100-Year-Old Man Beaten, Robbed

Investigators in Southwest Philadelphia want to find the person who beat and robbed a 100-year-old man in broad daylight.

The elderly man was beaten to the ground for the groceries he was carrying into his home at the time and the $30 in his wallet, Fox 29's Nefertiti Jaquez reported.

The attack happened around 4 p.m. Wednesday when the man was approached from behind in front of his home on the 6700 block of Grovers Avenue.

Describing the attack, police Lt. John walker said, "He grabs him by his neck from the rear, throws him to the ground. As he throws him to the ground, he starts smashing his head against the cement."

Walker said the man was rushed to a hospital and had some brain bleeding that doctors were very concerned about, considering his age.

"Fortunately, he's got no broken bones. He has some contusion and some cuts, but he's in good spirits," Walker said.

Residents living nearby cannot believe someone would hurt the man they call the "neighborhood grandfather."

"It makes me upset because I know him, and it makes me afraid now that I have to watch my back for everything," said resident Sheila Ferguson.

"I've known him since I was a kid, yeah. He's very popular down here, you know?" said a male resident.

"He's an elderly person. He don't bother no one. He stays to himself, and it's a damn shame," said a woman driving by.

And now, as police search for the robber, neighbors still cannot fathom who would want to attack their 100-year-old neighbor, who they said loves his community and has always been friendly.

"Whoever did it, I hope they catch him and they get what they deserve," Ferguson said. "I don't wish bad on anybody, you know. But what you put out there, it's going to come back to you."

Because he was attacked from behind, the man never got a good chance to see the robber. So the police said they need the public's help and asked anyone with information to call them.