NESCOPECK -- One woman is speaking up and sharing her story after two men robbed her at gunpoint while she was in bed.
"They know who to pick on, old crippled 87 year old," said Ella Hayes. "Somebody was standing right there in the hallway with that [gun] in my face."
Hayes told Newswatch 16 that two crooks stole her pocketbook and at least $500 last Tuesday.
According to Hayes, the crooks pushed a picnic table up to her kitchen window.
One man crawled through the small window that was left cracked open, and Hayes said he then opened the back door and let the other burglar inside her home.
After a gun was pointed at her, Hayes said she pressed the button on her Life Alert, which she keeps pinned to her shirt every night.
"Push the button. Lord, I was so scared," said Hayes. "I pushed the button. They were saying, 'Ella, what’s wrong?' All I could say was, 'Help!'"
Hayes said the voice of the Life Alert dispatcher scared off the crooks.
People who live nearby told Newswatch 16 that they're angry about what happened to their neighbor.
"They don`t respect people’s property or other people,” said Carl Cane. “Unfortuantely, it’s not like it used to be.”
Officials at the Area Agency on Aging for Luzerne and Wyoming Counties said they don’t know if crimes against seniors are on the rise, but they believe that more victims are speaking up and calling police.
"Desperate people do desperate things, unfortunately,” said Brian McAdarra. “With today's economy and a lot of people struggling, assets are limited, resources are limited. Unfortunately people do target the elderly."
Anyone with information about the home invasion in Nescopeck is urged to call state police near Shickshinny at 570-542-4117.