SADLY we are no longer shocked when we hear reports of elderly people being targeted by criminals, as a woman was on Saturday evening at her home on the outskirts of Belfast.
The victim, in her seventies, heard noises at the rear of her house in the Jordanstown Road area of Newtownabbey and when she opened a rear door two men pushed in. While one held her captive in the living room of her own home, the other searched the rooms before the pair escaped with money.
While the theft of money is not an inconsequential matter, just as serious is the fact that this woman was put through a terrifying ordeal. It is no surprise that a police statement confirmed that the victim was left in a very distressed state.
There must be a good possibility that the criminals involved deliberately targeted an older member of the community who was on her own at the time. If that is the case then they will probably have no qualms about doing the same thing again.
For that reason it is vital that anyone with information about the thieves should pass it on to the PSNI. Such individuals must be brought to justice as soon as possible before they traumatise as well as steal from more victims.
