A New Hampshire woman, one of two people shot during a home invasion in Saco last week, has undergone multiple surgeries at a Maine hospital, according to a friend.

Rachel Owens, 55, and Steven Chabot, 55, were shot Thursday at Chabot’s home at 25 Hillview Ave. in Saco. Owens, who lives in Londonderry, New Hampshire, was visiting Chabot and his wife, Carol Chabot, when someone entered the house and shot the two in separate rooms at 2:47 a.m. Carol Chabot hid beneath furniture in a third room and was not injured, police said.

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A home invasion at 24 Hillview Ave. in Saco last Thursday left two people injured, including Rachel Owens of Londonderry, N.H., who has faced multiple surgeries this week at Maine Medical Center, according to her neighbor.

Police searched the Owenses’ house Friday and left on Saturday.

Michelle Debye, a neighbor and friend, said Owens’ husband, Gregory Owens, returned to the couple’s house at 3 Winthrop Road, Londonderry, briefly on Sunday with Rachel Owens’ brother to get some clothes before returning to the Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she and Chabot were taken after the shootings.

The hospital said it had no information about Owens or Chabot, who also was shot multiple times. But Debye said she was told Sunday by Owens’ brother that her friend was in intensive care.

Debye said she has lived across the street from Owens and her husband, Gregory Owens, for eight years. She said she is good friends with Rachel Owens and sees her almost every day when she’s home.

“She got shot in the shoulder. I guess that was pretty bad,” Debye said. Rachel Owens also was shot in the leg and doctors had to insert a metal pin, she said. Another bullet grazed her stomach but doctors thought it might have penetrated, so she had to endure a surgery for that as well, Debye said. She also has a bullet fragment in the back of her head which doctors have decided to leave in place for the time being, she said.

Police have said someone in New Hampshire was questioned but not charged. They would not say who. Saco police have released no new information about the case since Thursday.

Debye said she feels terrible for her friend and anxious that whoever did the shooting remains at large.

“She’s the most thoughtful person around. We have a small neighborhood and everyone in the neighborhood loves her,” Debye said. “She’s always there to lend a hand, or bake muffins when someone moves to the neighborhood. She’s an amazing woman.”

Debye said Owens is originally from Saco and that her parents and many of her friends live there. Owens is good friends with Carol Chabot and was excited to be spending a few days with them around the holidays, Debye said.

“She was pretty excited about this visit. I can’t believe it ended the way it did,” she said.

Owens is not currently working, though in years past she worked at a local delicatessen and before that at a fancy restaurant, Debye said. For the past six or seven years Owens has stayed home, Debye said.

Gregory Owens is retired from the Army and works out of town often. Debye believes he runs a company that manufactures training ammunition.

They have an adult son who lives with his family in Rhode Island, Debye said.

Debye believes the surgeries have been particularly difficult because her friend is not in top physical condition.

“This past year she’s been really stressed out and lost a lot of weight, so she’s in a delicate condition to begin with,” Debye said. “Her husband works out of state. She doesn’t see him as much as she would like to,” Debye said.

Police have said the shooting was not random.

Debye said she could not speculate on who would have shot her friend or why, though she is anxious because her friend lives across from her at the end of a dead end street. If someone was targeting Owens, others in the small quiet neighborhood might also be in danger, she said.

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