A man is wanted after a home invasion and aggravated robbery in a White Settlement senior living apartment complex early Friday morning.
White Settlement Police Chief Chris Cook said they responded to a "frantic 911 call call from an elderly woman that said she needed police and medical. She had reported that an unknown man had entered her unlocked apartment.”
It happened in the 8400 block of Tumbleweed Trail at the Oak Timbers Apartment Complex on Friday Nov. 8, at around 3:24 a.m.
“When she was asleep, she woke up feeling some pressure on her throat, it startled her, she realized it was a knife, and... out of a defensive posture, pushed it back but she severed her hand pretty bad, there was a lot of blood where she was lying and in the apartment," Cook said.
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The property is a senior living community and the victim is an elderly woman in her '60s, police said.
“She just kept pleading with him not to hurt her and for him to take whatever he wanted and he did run out of the apartment," Cook said. “The suspect told her as he was leaving to wait at least 10 minutes before you call anyone.”
A police supervisor that was already at the complex doing residential patrol when the call was dispatched immediately made his way to the scene.
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The victim was taken to the hospital for her injuries but is expected to survive.
White Settlement PD posted surveillance video online, showing a man wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and light-colored gloves, trying to open front doors near the victim's apartment before finding her door unlocked, and slowly entering.
"We rarely have any calls for service at this particular complex, so we’re pretty shocked," Cook said, adding that the property is safe.
Apartment Manager Heather Glanton said they make sure to keep the front gate, and all walking gates, locked.
"I don’t allow delivery drivers in if I don’t have residents—if they haven’t given them their personal gate code. Or if I don’t have permission from the resident or I call and I can’t get ahold of them—I don’t let them in," she said.
Police believe the suspect scaled a fence to get in and out. They are investigating a cell phone they found nearby with the flashlight on as possibly belonging to the suspect.
Ganton said although she's glad residents feel safe enough to keep their doors unlocked, she's having conversations with them.
“Everyone needs to be safe, we need to make sure we’re locking our doors, make sure that we’re looking out after each other," she said.
They are hoping this is an isolated incident but are considering adding night security to the property.
She said she knows all her residents, and is glad the home invasion victim will be okay.
“She comes up every Friday for Bingo, coffee and conversation," Ganton said. "She's a sweetheart."
Detectives believe that the man fled the scene by foot, taking some cash and keys with him. Based on the description given by the victim, the police said that the man is believed to potentially be Hispanic, 5'07"-5'09" in height with a stocky build.
Investigators are asking neighbors in the complex as well as nearby to check their security cameras for video that may have captured the suspect walking in the area or running away, between 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m.
Anyone with information is asked to contact WSPD at 817-246-4973. Tipsters can also remain anonymous by contacting Tarrant County Crime Stoppers at 817-469-TIPS.
