On National Indigenous Peoples Day a guy I didn’t know punched me in the face, then jumped into a waiting truck and took off. Say what? Yup, I was struck in the face by someone senseless enough to sucker punch a senior and then take off. Not cool.
The police haven’t been able to track the person down yet, so I am offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the foolish man who assaulted me. He took off in a black Dodge truck.
What’s this world coming to you’re thinking? Well, I couldn’t believe it either … that someone could be so spineless as to punch a senior in the face and run away.
So how did it happen? Well, around 4:15 p.m. Jean and I saw some street-involved people who were having a hard time in the heat, so we decided to supply them with bottled water. We went to the downtown Independent Grocer and bought a 24-pack.
We put the water in our car, and I brought the cart back to the front of the store. I started walking to my car when I saw a guy walking quickly towards me from the direction of Shoppers and yelling something.
Next thing you know I saw stars. The coward had punched me. Then he ran and jumped into a Dodge pickup. The truck took off and turned towards Franklin Avenue.
The driver of the truck was obviously waiting for my attacker. By helping him to escape, so he could go punch another senior, the driver is no better than the person who hit me.
$1,000 reward
So, two weeks later and the police need help to identify my attacker, so I am offering a $1,000 reward that leads to the conviction of the person who did this to me.
What kind of information would we want? Well, remember it happened around 4:45 p.m. on June 21, National Aboriginal day, in front of the downtown Independent.
Did you happen to see the attack? Did you see the face of the attacker or the truck drive away? Did you hear about this before reading this article? Who told you? Did they say who did it?
So, why am I putting up the reward? Well, I really want to see this guy caught and have his day in court. He needs to be put in jail to be taught a lesson and hopefully, he stops senselessly and cowardly attacking random senior citizens. Well yaaaaa!
The thing is, we don’t know if this guy got out of the truck later and attacked another senior or someone else. But, it’s highly likely that he has committed violent acts on others before. And, that he will again.
Disgusting as this gutless attacker’s actions were, he’s not the only person abusing seniors. In fact, up to one percent of Canadian seniors experience violent crimes or physical abuse.
The problem is that many seniors do not tell police about attacks on them, but they do report them to health professionals, community groups, and financial institutions.
Being attacked makes you feel helpless, especially if you don’t know the person who did it and he runs away-like my cowardly attacker did. But we are far from helpless. One very important thing we can do is report it to the police. Oh yeah!
So, if you are a senior and you are attacked like I was, please, please, please report it to the police right away. It doesn’t matter who did it, report it. If you do not report it, the person will probably assault someone again, maybe you.
And also, get counselling right away. That’s what I did, and it really helped me. No matter who you are, talking to a professional counsellor will help you to process what has happened and you will feel better.
Crime prevention tips
To help prevent being abused or robbed when you go out, plan where you are going to go and keep an eye on what’s going on around you. Stay away from buildings and doorways; walk where it’s well lit.
If you have two doors, use your front door and have your key ready when going to your door. Don’t dangle your purse away from your body.
And try to walk around with other people. The people who attack seniors are bullies, and bullies are cowards, so they are less likely to do something to you if you are with someone else.
God bless, and don’t forget about that $1,000 reward to catch my attacker. If you have any information, please notify the Yellowknife RCMP.