Bed Stuy Home Invasion Leaves 91-Year-Old Man Dead
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Sources say police are looking into whether an elderly couple was targeted for a deadly home invasion in Brooklyn.
"They were friendly people, friendly people, very friendly. When they pass they say morning to everybody," Yvonne Sameroo told TV 10/55's Valerie Castro.
The friendly couple was known to almost everyone on Decatur Street in Bed Stuy, and became the targets of a home invasion that police said ended in death.
"Upon the officers' arrival they were met by a 99-year-old female who identified herself as being the 911 caller, as well as the homeowner. This 99-year-old female further stated that unknown people entered her apartment and tied her and her husband up," NYPD Deputy Chief Michael Kemper said.
Police said the woman was able to untie herself to make the call for help.
They found her husband, still tied up inside the home, but unresponsive.
Despite CPR efforts, he was later declared dead at a nearby hospital.
His wife could be seen inside an ambulance, being treated for her own injuries. At the time she was unaware her husband had passed away.
"Superficial marks around her legs consistent with being tied up, and she was ultimately removed to an area hospital for further evaluation," Kemper said.
Karlen Grose said the last time she saw her uncle Waldiman Thompson, was on Sunday at a family gathering.
"Oh my god, it breaks my heart to see my uncle died. He was like a father to me, brought me up in Jamaica," she said.
She had no idea it would be their final visit.
"He doesn't deserve to die like this, and this brutality that thy did to him, it's terrible, it's terrible," she said.
Cops say the home was ransacked. Sources said Thomspon and his wife Ethlin own the building, and collect rent from other tenants. It's believed they had a large amount of cash inside their home.
It remains unclear of anything was stolen, police are canvassing the area for surveillance video, and interviewing stunned neighbors.
"I don't even have the words, because two people in their 90s? Come on!" Minister Isaac Mickens said.
Sources said Ethlin was followed into her ground floor apartment by the suspects, possibly four of them.
Police are calling her husband's death a homicide, but they aren't sure how he died.