An elderly man is in critical condition following an assault in north Harris County, according to authorities. The incident, which authorities initially reported as an aggravated robbery, took place in the parking lot of a Food Town grocery store on the 1400 block of FM 1960 W yesterday afternoon. The Harris County Sheriff's Office reports that the assault occurred around 2 p.m.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez's office is now searching for a suspect believed to be between the ages of 55-60. The man suspected in the attack left the scene in a maroon Ford F150, as seen on surveillance footage. Sgt. Jeff Thomas described the suspect as "a pretty large gentleman, we think between like 6′2 and 6′4, probably over 250 pounds," in a statement obtained by Click2Houston.
Despite initial reports, further investigation revealed no items were taken from the victim. "We have no proof of that, but we do know there was an altercation between two gentlemen,” Sgt. Thomas explained. "It was put out as an aggravated robbery, I don’t know why that was, but after watching the video, nothing was taken from the complainant." The 80-year-old victim, whose identity has not been released, was flown to Kingwood Hospital from Houston Northwest Medical Center and remains in critical condition, Click2Houston reports.
Eyewitnesses have indicated that both individuals involved were regulars at the store. According to the surveillance video, the interaction did not initially appear to be hostile. "It didn’t look very confrontational, it looked pretty cordial, shortly thereafter the suspect struck the complainant," Thomas told Click2Houston. Following the blow, the victim fell to the ground.
The suspect, described in a post by the sheriff's department as a black male wearing a white shirt and blue pants, fled in the aforementioned truck. The Harris County Sheriff's Office shared this information via social media.
@HCSOTexas units responded to the parking lot of a grocery store at the 1400 blk of W. FM-1960. Preliminary: an older adult (possibly 80 yrs) suffered a severe head injury during a robbery attempt. The male was transported to a hospital in
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) December 6, 2024
1/2 pic.twitter.com/9memxtTyEC
The sheriff's office is requesting additional information and encourages witnesses or anyone with knowledge of the suspect to come forward. Sgt. Thomas urges the community to contact Crime Stoppers or the sheriff's office with any information.
