An elderly man of about 80 was arrested after he was suspected of having robbed a 77-year-old female acquaintance at knifepoint and then fleeing with the money.

An Israeli woman complained that a few days ago an acquaintance of hers, an 80-year-old resident of Haifa, came to visit her for a social visit, which soon developed into threats and robbery of NIS 4,500.

Police opened an investigation and found the identity of the suspect, a resident of Haifa, aged 80, and they arrived at his home one evening this week and arrested him for questioning at the Lev Ha’Bira station on suspicion of armed robbery under aggravated circumstances.

According to the investigation, the suspect came to visit the victim, who is an acquaintance who lives in Jerusalem, and after a short time demanded a large sum of money from her. When the elderly woman pressed a panic button in her house, the suspect threatened to use the knife. As a result, she told the emergency operator that she pressed the panic button by mistake.

At this stage the elderly woman responded to the suspect’s demands and gave him a large sum of money, NIS 4,500, and he fled the scene. The woman turned to another acquaintance of hers who volunteered in the police force and immediately went with her to the station to file a complaint.

The suspect was arraigned, and his detention extended by the court.

The police said that “the suspect who exploited his acquaintance with the elderly woman to enter her home, rob her with threats and escape, constitutes a serious offense.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)