Terrifying home invasion: Brutal attack leaves 87-year-old sore and bruised
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Content warning: This story involves the assault of an elderly man. Reader discretion is advised.
It’s every homeowner’s worst nightmare – waking up in the middle of the night to find intruders in your home.
But for an elderly man, this was his reality when he awoke to find intruders snooping inside his home.
Before we get into the details of the case, we’d like to preface this by saying that Jerome Gerovich, the 87-year-old victim from Mandurah, Western Australia, is doing fine and is in stable condition.
This comes after it was revealed that Mr Gerovich sustained minor injuries after being assaulted by home intruders while inside his Dudley Park home.
According to reports, the burglars were allegedly ransacking various rooms between 2 am and 3 am.
After getting out of bed to investigate, Mr Gerovich received a blow to the back of his head, causing him to fall to the ground and lose consciousness. It is understood that at this point, the intruders continued to ransack his home of 23 years.
Once he regained consciousness, he immediately called the police and was taken to the hospital.
His neighbours rallied to offer support during his recovery.
At the time of the incident, Mr Gerovich’s family thanked members of the community for gathering security camera footage, bringing food to Mr Gerovich, and mowing his lawn for him.
Detective First Class Constable Matthew Mackay said police were treating the aggravated burglary with the ‘utmost seriousness’.
In a statement, he explained: ‘This is definitely a serious and horrible offence that occurred against an elderly and vulnerable member of our community.’
‘We've allocated significant resources throughout the district in the form of forensic officers. We have multiple units that are out there doing everything we can to apprehend these offenders,’ He added.
Neighbours revealed that Mr Gerovich is a ‘great guy’ and someone ‘dear’ to many.
‘He helps take everyone's paper in for him if they're not home,’ one of Mr Gerovich’s neighbours said.
‘He is a really nice man, and it's very sad,’ another shared.
Others expressed their shock over the incident.
‘It was on our street? It doesn’t happen here. It’s surprising,’ one resident told reporters.
Nevertheless, the local community worked with the police in the investigation.
Security cameras from nearby houses caught the offenders peering into a neighbour’s car and a letterbox before they entered the victim’s home.
In the wake of the home invasion investigation, Mr Gerovich’s relatives remained at his side to ensure his recovery went smoothly.
According to his loved ones, Mr Gerovich described himself as feeling ‘sore and shaken up’ but is ‘recovering well’.
‘He’s surrounded by family, providing him with support,’ they said.
The police investigation resulted in the arrest of five people, with two of them charged over the alleged attack.
A 13-year-old boy from Greenfields and a 19-year-old man from South Hedland have each been charged with aggravated home burglary, aggravated grievous bodily harm, and aggravated robbery.
The 13-year-old remained in custody, where police have confirmed that he had been previously charged with similar offences. Both of them were ‘known to the police’.
Detective Matthew Mackay said that the community played a significant role in apprehending the perpetrators.
‘This sort of behaviour will not be tolerated and will not be accepted against these vulnerable members of our community. This was an innocent 87-year-old man. He could have been anyone’s grandfather, who was asleep in his own home and woke up to be violently assaulted and left in a hospital while his personal belongings were stolen,’ the detective shared in an impact statement.
‘This is shocking. This is horrible.’
Three of the suspects – two more 13-year-old boys and another 19-year-old man – were taken into custody as part of the investigation.
Mr Gerovich, on the other hand, had spoken to Detective Mackay following the arrest of the suspects. Mr Gerovich told the detective that he was feeling ‘a little bit embarrassed’ about the attention he received from the community but remained ‘overwhelmingly grateful’ for the support.
Our thoughts go out to Mr Gerovich during this difficult time, and we hope for a speedy recovery as he begins to heal from his injuries.
No one deserves to feel unsafe in their own homes. We always remind you to be cautious and remain vigilant when it comes to your safety, and we urge you to report if you witness anything suspicious to your local law enforcement immediately.
Do you have any stories to share about how you’ve done your part to protect your home? Tell them in the comments below.
It’s every homeowner’s worst nightmare – waking up in the middle of the night to find intruders in your home.
But for an elderly man, this was his reality when he awoke to find intruders snooping inside his home.
Before we get into the details of the case, we’d like to preface this by saying that Jerome Gerovich, the 87-year-old victim from Mandurah, Western Australia, is doing fine and is in stable condition.
This comes after it was revealed that Mr Gerovich sustained minor injuries after being assaulted by home intruders while inside his Dudley Park home.
According to reports, the burglars were allegedly ransacking various rooms between 2 am and 3 am.
After getting out of bed to investigate, Mr Gerovich received a blow to the back of his head, causing him to fall to the ground and lose consciousness. It is understood that at this point, the intruders continued to ransack his home of 23 years.
Once he regained consciousness, he immediately called the police and was taken to the hospital.
His neighbours rallied to offer support during his recovery.
At the time of the incident, Mr Gerovich’s family thanked members of the community for gathering security camera footage, bringing food to Mr Gerovich, and mowing his lawn for him.
Detective First Class Constable Matthew Mackay said police were treating the aggravated burglary with the ‘utmost seriousness’.
In a statement, he explained: ‘This is definitely a serious and horrible offence that occurred against an elderly and vulnerable member of our community.’
‘We've allocated significant resources throughout the district in the form of forensic officers. We have multiple units that are out there doing everything we can to apprehend these offenders,’ He added.
Neighbours revealed that Mr Gerovich is a ‘great guy’ and someone ‘dear’ to many.
‘He helps take everyone's paper in for him if they're not home,’ one of Mr Gerovich’s neighbours said.
‘He is a really nice man, and it's very sad,’ another shared.
Others expressed their shock over the incident.
‘It was on our street? It doesn’t happen here. It’s surprising,’ one resident told reporters.
Nevertheless, the local community worked with the police in the investigation.
Security cameras from nearby houses caught the offenders peering into a neighbour’s car and a letterbox before they entered the victim’s home.
In the wake of the home invasion investigation, Mr Gerovich’s relatives remained at his side to ensure his recovery went smoothly.
According to his loved ones, Mr Gerovich described himself as feeling ‘sore and shaken up’ but is ‘recovering well’.
‘He’s surrounded by family, providing him with support,’ they said.
The police investigation resulted in the arrest of five people, with two of them charged over the alleged attack.
A 13-year-old boy from Greenfields and a 19-year-old man from South Hedland have each been charged with aggravated home burglary, aggravated grievous bodily harm, and aggravated robbery.
The 13-year-old remained in custody, where police have confirmed that he had been previously charged with similar offences. Both of them were ‘known to the police’.
Detective Matthew Mackay said that the community played a significant role in apprehending the perpetrators.
‘This sort of behaviour will not be tolerated and will not be accepted against these vulnerable members of our community. This was an innocent 87-year-old man. He could have been anyone’s grandfather, who was asleep in his own home and woke up to be violently assaulted and left in a hospital while his personal belongings were stolen,’ the detective shared in an impact statement.
‘This is shocking. This is horrible.’
Three of the suspects – two more 13-year-old boys and another 19-year-old man – were taken into custody as part of the investigation.
Mr Gerovich, on the other hand, had spoken to Detective Mackay following the arrest of the suspects. Mr Gerovich told the detective that he was feeling ‘a little bit embarrassed’ about the attention he received from the community but remained ‘overwhelmingly grateful’ for the support.
Key Takeaways
- An 87-year-old man in Perth was attacked and robbed in his home.
- Neighbours offered support to the victim, and the community helped to gather evidence in support of the police.
- Police treated this aggravated burglary with the 'utmost seriousness' and allocated significant resources to apprehend the offenders.
- The victim is in stable condition in the hospital and is described as 'sore and shaken up' but recovering well.
No one deserves to feel unsafe in their own homes. We always remind you to be cautious and remain vigilant when it comes to your safety, and we urge you to report if you witness anything suspicious to your local law enforcement immediately.
Do you have any stories to share about how you’ve done your part to protect your home? Tell them in the comments below.