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May 11, 2008 11:28 pm US/Eastern
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Surveillance Video May Help Capture Home Invader
Dyker Heights On Edge After Attack On Elderly Woman
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Authorities have released surveillance video of the apparent suspect running from the Brooklyn home invasion of a police officer's elderly mother.
Police presence is at a high level Sunday night in Dyker Heights as authorities search for the man who invaded a home and brutally beat the 69-year-old woman who lived inside. Police believe they may have caught a break - a surveillance video apparently captured the image of the suspect fleeing the scene.
The video goes by quickly, but when slowed down, the grainy surveillance tape shows the man who police believe brutally beat Carmela Bocca Di Fuocco Friday night, striking her in the back of the head three times with a blunt instrument and sending her to the hospital with 27 staples in her head.
"To tell you the truth, I hope the cops get him before the neighborhood does," said neighbor Andre Padro. "It's scary. This is a very good community. We won't stand for it and eventually they'll catch him.
As neighbors expressed their outrage, family members gathered to care for the victim, under the watchful eye of a round the clock police patrol in front of the home.
Di Fuocco's brother-in-law - Rosario Intrabaia told CBS 2 that his sister-in-law was still dizzy as she recounted the beating - explaining the suspect entered from the back and attacked the woman as she was watching television.
He then apparently made his escape thru an alley way before being caught on the surveillance tape.
The victim's first call went to her son, a New York City police officer who initiated the police response - which is now anchored by a mobile command center. Despite the increased police presence, some residents are worried.
"It's not that you're afraid to walk around, that you're going to get mugged, or stabbed," said a woman who preferred to be identified only as Debbie. "But still …it happened now, it could happen again."
There is a sense of relief due to the strong police presence, but people in the neighborhood want to see an arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call the Crime Stoppers hotline.
The suspect is described by police as between six feet and six three.. With a heavy build, wearing dark clothes and a mask. There is a $2,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and indictment.
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