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Dec 19, 2008 7:55 pm US/Central
FWPD: Crimes Against Senior Citizens On The Rise
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Police say crimes against senior citizens are on the rise in Fort Worth.
Every week for the last couple of months they've been seeing robbers target people in their 70's, 80's and even their 90's.
Most of those victims were out shopping before they were robbed.
On Thursday, two more cases were reported. Police say they don't know exactly why it's happening yet. But they are asking everyone to watch out for each other, especially the elderly.
"I tell you, I don't think I'd be very much of a lady if I told you what the little S.O.B. should have," said a women who did not want to be identified.
Like many of the victims, the woman was left bruised and shaken by a robber. "I said, 'Oh my God. I'm being robbed.'"
It happened Thursday afternoon. She says she went to the Kroger on Bridge Street around 4:30 p.m. and then drove straight home.
When she pulled into her garage on Blueridge Drive, a man ran in after her, grabbed her purse and knocked her onto the ground.
"Why can't you realize there is a job for everybody and not to be robbing people? People who can't afford to be robbed," the woman said.
For a couple that lives on Blue Carriage Lane, it was a different kind of surprise when they opened their garage door after returning from Wal-mart.
"He pointed the gun at them and started yelling at them to back up," said Linda Lutz, the victims' daughter.
Lutz says two men had broken into her parents' home through a back window. The thieves pulled their own black, four-door car into the garage and closed the door. They ransacked the house and stole their belongings.
When Lutz's 84-year-old father drove up with his 81-year-old wife in the passenger seat, the robbers ran them off.
"My dad said, 'All I could focus on was the gun and that I could see the bullets in the chamber,'" said Lutz.
Lutz is hoping anyone who knows anything about the crimes will call police.
"Think about it - if it was your mom and dad, would you like the thought of someone holding them up for any reason? Whether it was a gun, knife or anything," she asked.
Fort Worth Police Lieutenant Paul Henderson said it could be a national trend. It could be copy cats committing the crimes or it could be the warmer holiday season. With more shoppers out and about, there would be more opportunities to commit robbery.
Investigators do have some leads in these cases, and they are hoping to start identifying possible suspects.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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