A brutal early morning beating and robbery, which left an elderly woman hospitalised, has rocked the feeling of safety in a normally quiet St Philip neighbourhood.
Reports reaching the DAILY NATION indicated that 83-year-old Colleen Jackman, of Harmony Hall, was attacked by two men around 3:40 a.m. Sunday.
She has been hospitalised and is being treated for several injuries. She was robbed of an undisclosed sum of money.
Neighbours, who requested anonymity, said Jackman was a loving person who always had a gift for children in the area.
“We always felt safe around here. Up to this (yesterday) morning I was saying to someone since I have been living here, which is 20 years, I’ve never had anything stolen, I’ve never had anyone trying to break in, I’ve never had anything happen,” said one woman.
“I am in shock. We are all in shock because we never expect anything like that to happen. We always felt safe around here. It is someone who has come into our area to mess it up. I don’t believe it was anyone around here.
“She was a nice person; she just had a stroke. She was unable to defend herself and those animals – they were two of them – one held her down and beat her up while the other one searched the house for whatever they wanted.”
Another neighbour said the incident left her shaken.
“When I hear it, I can’t move ’cause it got me in a shock. Up to now I still can’t believe that.”
Yet another seemed shocked by what he called “the boldness” of the act and feared a similar thing could happen to them.
One resident who visited Jackman in the hospital said her friend was afraid to return home and was asking if the men would return.
“She is not a young person. It is going to affect her mentally. It is already affecting her physically, but it will do mentally as well.”
Residents said the incident forced them to pay more attention to security and safety in the close-knit community. (SAT)
