by Early this morning, a group of masked armed men robbed an assisted living facility in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They restrained the staff and then stole TVs and other valuables from the elderly residents.
About 1:30 a.m., three to four men entered the Clare Bridge Retirement Home at 275 S. Peace Haven Road, pulled out their guns and restrained employees, police said. The men, who had their faces covered, are alleged to have then gone into the rooms of the residents and stolen televisions, jewelry and other items, police said.
One resident had to be treated for a minor injury, according to police.
Police have not said how the men entered the facility. There were no visible signs of a break-in. Visitors must ring a bell in the foyer, and are allowed in by an employee. Employees must enter a security code to get in.
I think I’ve heard about damn near everything now. I just cannot conceive of an armed robbery of an assisted living facility. All I can say is that I hope most of the residents slept through it. The elderly need to be respected and not terrorized.
I agree 100% with C. D. Williams whose wife was a resident at the retirement home and lived across from one of the rooms that was entered.
Williams said his wife is fine but that he is upset that anyone would break into a retirement home.
“It’s somebody lower than a snake’s belly, and that’s pretty low,” he said. “You don’t know where to go to be safe.”
I don’t think it would be cruel and unusual punishment for the robbers, if and when they are caught, to be flogged or caned in the public square. In a spirit of moderation, I’ll save boiling in oil for the robber who injured the resident and not the whole gang of them.
UPDATE: Clare Bridge is owned by Brookdale Senior Living Solutions. According to their corporate website, this facility in Winston-Salem is strictly for the care of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.
Now I’m really pissed off. My mother suffered from dementia during the last few years of her life. I saw a proud, smart, and fiercely independent woman reduced to a shell of her former self. Mistreating the elderly who suffer from dementia is on par with abusing a retarded child. Only the scum of the earth would do it.