A scary, freaky incident happened at my grandmother’s community yesterday afternoon. I had been there the day before so I wasn’t there with my parents when they left my grandmothers area to be surrounded by police, ambulances, and news crews and were told to move along. Apparently, a part-time custodial worker went beserk in the second floor assisted care area (where my grandmother stayed for some time before being moved to the hospice area), stabbing seven people, including several bed-ridden residents. He was restrained and apprehended swiftly and fortunately no one as of yet has died because of the injuries.

I have nothing but praise for the way the community is run – it certainly feels very safe, homey, and upbeat – so this random incident is quite jarring. The residents seem to be taking it in stride from what I saw on television interviews last night. My grandmother, ever level headed, is fine.

The big question is why the employee snapped? All the employees seem to be treated fairly and paid well at the community and I’ve never detected any strife. Since many of the nurses and staff are from strife-filled areas such as Liberia, Eritrea, and Somalia, my guess is that maybe the assailant was going through some kind of post-traumatic incident. What a violent, unpredictable world we live in…

UPDATE: Turns out the assailant is a well-liked employee of the community. In fact, we know him by name, and less than 24 hours before the attack we were chatting with him in my grandmother’s unit. What an unfortunate situation for all.

Comments

[Chiqui]

Hey, T, haven't visited you in awhile. That IS freaky. Good thing you and your grandmother were not around. wonder why he snapped... But amazed that no one (esp the bed-ridden patients) died.

I'm still keeping my flat in North Sy-Quia so we'll still have some Malate to come home to. Cats move to Rockwell though - I hope they like it there. so when you coming to visit? It's Dixie's bday today