Spanish
New York.- A 99-year-old man who has managed an apartment building in Washington Heights, New York, for decades, suffered a stroke one day after being attacked by an armed robber.
This is José Antonio Tur, who, according to his family, is slowly improving, although he faces difficulties speaking and overcoming partial paralysis while recovering in the hospital.
"That's what's making me cry right now, because he can't move," expressed Joel, the victim's grandson, to the Daily News. "He's always moving, he's always doing something. He's a strong man. You don't make it to 99 without being strong. I just pray he recovers," he added.
The incident began when Tur received two phone calls from someone who, in Spanish, asked him to meet at a side entrance of the 30-apartment building on W. 187th St., near Audubon Avenue, around 10 a.m. on Monday, to receive a package intended for one of the tenants, the New York Police reported.
Upon arriving at the entrance, Tur encountered an armed man wearing a balaclava and a hooded sweatshirt. “He realizes something is wrong and the 99-year-old man begins to fight with the attacker,” stated Joseph Kenny, NYPD chief of detectives. During the struggle, Tur's hand got caught between the door and the metal frame. The suspect managed to enter, pulled out a gun, and pressed it against the elderly man's neck.
Tur was transferred to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia with two broken fingers and a cut on his hand that required stitches. Although he returned home after receiving medical attention, he was hospitalized again around 3:00 a.m. on Tuesday after suffering a small stroke “due to the trauma of the robbery”, according to his grandson. He was subsequently subjected to emergency surgery to remove a blood clot in the brain and, until yesterday, remained hospitalized, showing signs of improvement. In addition to owning the building for more than half a century, Tur served as superintendent until after he turned 90 and still collects rent from tenants, some of which he receives in cash. "My grandfather goes to the bank himself," commented Joel. "He had $20,000 in cash because he was going to deposit it. He's very traditional."You may be interested in: Horror in Spain: an elderly man hacks to death a social worker who was assisting his wife
Before the robbery, Tur was an active and energetic man. "He would get angry when given a cane. He likes to work, be present and participate in everything," added his grandson. On Wednesday, police released surveillance images of the suspect and asked for the public's help in identifying and locating him.
