HOUSTON – What kind of man would pistol whip and terrorize a 74-year-old widow?
That's the question Houston Police Department robbery detectives are asking themselves as they search for a suspect and two accomplices who did just that during a home invasion on the city’s South Side last week.
The men forced their way into a house in the 5800 block of Southridge Street just after midnight Aug. 26.
Annie Lynch thought she was dreaming when she awoke to see one of them standing over her with a gun.
"He grabbed me by the arm and started dragging me out of the bed and that’s when he hit me upside the head," Lynch said.
She said the masked man dragged her into her living room and pushed her down on the floor, then put the gun to her head.
"He put the gun to my head again and I said, 'Lord have mercy. Help us in here. Lord help us all. Lord take care of us.' So he said, 'Shut up, b****,'” Lynch said.
At the same time, two other armed, masked men were beating her middle-aged son, Cedric, in the living room badly enough to send him to a hospital. Doctors said they fractured one of his vertebrae.
The gunmen took several hundred dollars in cash, along with some bottles from the liquor cabinet, and left, according to Lynch.
Lynch still bears physical and mental scars from the encounter.
“When somebody got a gun right on you, and that's just how close he was to me, you know, there’s something to think about,” she said.
She said she doesn’t know who they are or why they chose her house to rob. For now, police are stumped, too.
"Right now, I’m looking for any leads I can get," HPD robbery detective Will West said.
West said as long as the suspects remain free, they’re a threat to anyone else who crosses their path.
"This lady’s 74 years old. Whatever it is you want from her, you don’t have to do all that. You didn't have to do that to her," West said.
Police are asking that anyone who can help identify the gunmen call Houston Crime Stoppers, which is offering a reward of up to $5,000. Information may be reported by calling 713-222-TIPS (8477) or submitted online at www.crime-stoppers.org.