TROY, Mich. – A 90-year-old woman's home was broken into and even souvenir mortars from World War II wired around the safe did not stop the bad guy.
Police believe she was targeted because of her age. She lives next to Troy Athens High School. She wasn't seriously injured but the bad guy was very aggressive with her. Local 4 talked with her son, Ed.
"They knocked her down, dragged her to another room, put something over her head, and she's frail, so she had a hard time getting up," he said.
Ed's mother is remarkably staying strong a day after the man, who posed as a service worker, forced his way into her Troy home where she has lived for decades.
"She likes her independence and that makes her very vulnerable," her son said.
This was not the first time her home off Wattles Road has been targeted. When the man broke in Tuesday, he came face-to-face with the mortars from World War II.
"My dad was in the (Navy) and I guess he was able to bring back some souvenirs. Because they had been broken into before he had taken a couple of the Japanese mortar shells and wired them to the safe. They were duds, just meant to deter someone," said Ed.
Not even the potential for an explosion stopped the man. Troy police are looking for him.
"This individual has done this type of thing before," said Sgt. Meghan Lehman. "He clearly knew what he was doing. He was pretty smooth and credible in carrying this out."
Lehman is looking for a white man in his 50s with a medium build. He was wearing a gray baseball cap, earbud headphones and was driving a silver or gray SUV. He's a potential suspect police say has experience. They want him off the streets.
"She was a victim and she has every right to be there. She has every right to live the life she wants to. She's earned that," said Ed.
The thief only got away with credit cards and checks. Besides the souvenir mortars, another deterrent at the home was surveillance cameras, and police are currently reviewing the footage.