Police give gift card to elderly man robbed multiple times
An elderly man has been targeted several times by robbers at his Fort Worth home.
Neighbors do what they can to protect him, but Fort Worth police have gone above and beyond with their good will.
If anyone deserves a little assistance, it's 86-year-old John McAnally, who was robbed five times at his home in the past months.
A stroke has left his speech impaired, and his hearing is almost gone.
In one case, there was a man and woman who broke into his house and stole his money.
In another, the thieves got violent.
"They come in my house through here and they robbed me,” said McAnally. “They pushed me over and took money out of my pocket…I had to replace everything ‘cause they busted the sidings.”
McAnally's neighbor, Donald Green, along with other neighbors, has pitched in, adding security to the house.
"They’re low life and scum,” said Green. “That's about all they are, you know? They can't do anything legal. Just picking on a man that age who can't do anything.”
But McAnally, a Korean War veteran and retired crane operator, couldn't believe it when Fort Worth police gave him a $100 gift card, handed to him personally by two officers.
On the department's Facebook page, there are several other stories of needy families getting a gift card.
The Fort Worth Police Awards Foundation donated $10,000 worth of gift cards to randomly selected citizens.
McAnally says it couldn't have come at a better time.
"When you lose that much money, you know, on a fixed income, why, it hurts you,” said McAnally.
Fort Worth police say the stories on their Facebook page are only a fraction of what they've given out so far, and they have a lot more gift cards to distribute.
There have also been offers to help McAnally. He now has a fundraising account set up.