Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
How can anyone plan to rob a 100yr-old man?
Family fear Pat knew masked raiders
They seemed to know he may have a few pound on him
SON-IN-LAW DANNY
KELLY YESTERDAY
THE family of a 100-year-old man who was robbed at his home by a gang feel he may have known his attackers.
Pat Gillespie was left terrified and shaken after three masked men broke into the house in Strabane, Co Tyrone, on Friday evening.
The gang gained entry through a back door of the property at Railway Street before taking a panic alarm from around Mr Gillespie’s neck.
Two of the men held his arms while a third went through his pockets and found a sum of money. The men fled without entering any other rooms.
Son-in-law Danny Kelly said yesterday there was a belief Mr Gillespie may have known his attackers.
He added: “They seemed to know he may have a few pound on him and that’s what they went for. They were masked and didn’t say a word.
“They took the panic alarm off him very quickly and that was found on the floor later.
“We feel it’s all a bit suspicious they didn’t ransack the house or go through the drawers looking for more money. Pat is so well-known and he uses his electric scooter around the town.
“They could have been watching him and they could even know him.”
Mr Gillespie is wellknown in the border town where he visits his late wife Eileen’s grave every day to pray.
He dabbles in fixing old bikes and cars and even has a mini-transport museum which the attackers did not damage. Mr Kelly said: “How can anybody plan to do such a thing to a man who is 100 years old or anybody else for that matter?
“Pat is such a lovely man living out the final years of his life and hopefully this will not affect him too much, but we are obviously very worried for him.
“Hopefully the police can get enough evidence together to find out who did this and bring them to justice.”