Police receive tips in case of 101-year-old WWII vet tied up and robbed in home

WATCH: Veteran affairs minister Julian Fantino says 101-year-old Second World War veteran Ernest Côté is in good spirits despite being victimized in a home invasion.

Ottawa police have received several tips in the robbery case of 101-year-old Second World War veteran Ernest Côté.

Police are looking for a man in his 50s who tied up Côté and robbed him in his apartment building in the New Edinburgh community of Ottawa, Ont. Thursday morning.

Investigators Tweeted a photo of the suspect Thursday evening.

Police also released surveillance video of the suspect on Friday.

Côté was alone in his apartment at the time when a man claiming to be a City of Ottawa employee was buzzed into the building around 7:30 a.m.

READ MORE: 101-year-old WWII vet tied up and robbed in his Ottawa apartment

The suspect asked for money at Côté’s door and when he refused, the suspect tied the elderly man up and searched the apartment before fleeing with cash and undisclosed items.

Sources told Global News that the suspect put a bag over Côté’s head after tying him up.

After the suspect left, Côté – who was uninjured — was able to free himself and call police.

Global News spoke to a member of Côté’s family on Friday, who said police have done an excellent job investigating the case.

“Mr Côté is fine, other than a few bruises,” said the family member who did not wish to be identified, adding that Côté is back in his apartment and he will be much more careful about who he lets into the building.

WATCH: Ernest Côté, a 101-year-old veteran of the Second World War, was tied up and robbed in his Ottawa home. As Mike Le Couteur reports, the police are intent on finding who robbed him.

The family member said Ottawa’s Chief of Police Charles Bordeleau gave Côté a courtesy call this morning.

Staff Sgt. Mike Haarbosch said since releasing the suspect’s photo late Thursday, they’ve had several tips come in.

“We’re working through this morning, to see if there are any viable leads,” Haarbosch said.

Côté is a retired lieutenant colonel with the Canadian Armed Forces. In July 1945, he became the second secretary for the Department of External Affairs and in 2004 he received France’s Legion of Honour Award for his military service in France during the war.

Côté, a longtime public servant, became the assistant deputy minister to the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources in 1955. He became the veterans affairs deputy minister in 1968 before he served as the deputy solicitor general of Canada; an office he held from 1968 to 1972 when he was appointed Canada’s Ambassador to Finland.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact the Ottawa police robbery unit at 613-236-1222 ext. 5116. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers at 613-233-8477 (TIPS) or toll free at 1-800-222-8477.

IN PHOTOS: 101-year-old Ernest Côté is a veteran of the Second World War

With files from Andrew Russell