An elderly man was one of the most recent victims of insecurity in Bogotá. Security camera footage recorded the moment when at least six armed and hooded men entered his home, beat him, and fled amid an alleged case of theft and attempted kidnapping. It all reportedly started with what appeared to be a fake employee of the Aqueduct and Sewerage Company.
The events occurred around 7:50 a.m. last Friday, August 21 in the El Tabora neighborhood, in the Engativá locality.
Angie Ruiz, granddaughter of the grandfather victim of the incident, told EL TIEMPO that the man was alone in his home when an apparent Aqueduct employee arrived at the door to make a visit.
“The guy, who is clearly involved, starts giving recommendations, but in a hostile way. At one point, he lifts the cover on the street with a stick and tells my grandfather that he has to go inside the house to close the register. Once inside the garage, he signals the criminals,” Ruiz said.
Indeed, security cameras captured a Chevrolet pickup truck that was parked the entire time on one of the corners. Immediately, the vehicle moved and arrived at the house.
The alleged Aqueduct employee, with papers in hand, left the scene.
From the back door, three men with caps and armed quickly got out to intimidate the grandfather.
“Two of them enter, grab my grandfather, subdue him and start beating him. He is absolutely in shock because he doesn’t understand what is happening; he is an 83-year-old man. These guys hit his mouth and his denture fell out. He couldn’t speak out of helplessness seeing them ask where the money was and my grandfather said nothing. They kept beating him while two others tried to open one of the house doors,” the woman narrated.
The elderly man, a local merchant, had a buy-and-sell shop on the first floor of the house.
“There was nothing but small change, but we assume someone made up that maybe my grandfather had money or something like that,” added Angie Ruiz.
While all this was happening, another pickup truck, this time a Kia, parked in front of the house and two more men got out of the back seat.
At least six people were inside the garage intimidating and assaulting the grandfather while trying to open the security door that connected to the buy-and-sell shop.
Although they did not succeed, the assaults continued, and the family believes it could also have been an attempted kidnapping.
“Maybe they only wanted to steal, but why did they need to bring at least six people to rob two elderly people and take cash? I think it’s an excessive effort,” she said.
At that moment, the grandmother and the husband of the reporting woman arrived, who noticed the incident. The alleged criminals reportedly told them, with a firearm in hand, that they were members of the Sijín.
The men immediately fled the scene in both pickup trucks, while Angie’s husband sought the Police.
“At the CAI, there were only two women, who arrived a minute and a half later, but did not try to pursue the vehicles, they just asked what had happened. I don’t know if that was the proper procedure. They saw my grandfather bloodied, asked for a statement, and told him to go file a report. That was it,” the woman said.
The elderly man was taken to a medical center, where he is still recovering from the injuries he suffered on his face. In fact, doctors had determined that surgery was necessary, but due to his advanced age, the procedure could not be performed.
Meanwhile, Angie Ruiz noted that Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán contacted her to get informed about the incident.
“Since yesterday, the Security Secretariat has had this case, but I want to know if they have already contacted you to support the investigation. Apparently, there is information about thefts under this same modality, but it seems to me that in your case it is much more serious because it is not just a theft, but an attempted kidnapping, according to what you say, in addition to the assault,” Galán told Ruiz.
The woman requests speed in the investigation, as she has already received at least two reports of other theft cases in which the same Chevrolet pickup truck would be involved.
“A case like this not only leaves physical damage but also emotional, moral, and spiritual. No one expects this to happen, especially with so many guys attacking my grandfather. They destroyed his face, his lip, and left the whole family traumatized. We ask that the Prosecutor’s Office and the Police advance the investigation to find these people,” Ruiz stated.
The authorities will proceed with the investigation and evidence collection to find those responsible for the incident.
NICOLÁS DÍAZ MALPICA
Bogotá Editorial Staff
