JACKSON, SC (WRDW / WAGT) – A man died of his injuries after being attacked by an elderly couple from Aiken County whose home he tried to break into, officials said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, new details about Monday’s case emerged with the release of an incident report by the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office.
This happened just after noon at a house on Dicks Street between Beech Island and Jackson.
“It is a very good neighborhood. Nothing like that usually happens, ”said neighbor Alyssa Hill.
Neighbors are shaken after deputies say an intruder, later identified as Harold L. Runnels Jr., 61, broke into a couple’s home on his street.
The police said Runnels knocked on the back door, and when it opened, he stepped forward while wielding a large knife. He then used the knife handle to start beating the occupants, an 82-year-old man and his 79-year-old wife.
The woman fell, bruising her index finger, and Runnels continued the attack using the sharp tip of the knife on the woman, causing a laceration on her forehead.
During the attack, the husband used the handle of his weapon to defend himself and his wife, constantly beating Runnels, deputies said.
Runnels fell to the ground, conscious but unanswered, according to the deputies.
The policemen who arrived found him on the floor covered in blood.
“I’m sure everyone around here is feeling somehow now. Everyone is saying to make sure the doors are locked, don’t go anywhere, don’t answer the door, ”said Hill.
Both Runnels and the victims were taken to hospitals.
“I was a little worried because I don’t know who was going to come after an elderly couple,” said Hill. “He decided to knock on the wrong door.”
Runnels succumbed to traumatic injuries at 10:51 pm on Monday at Augusta University Medical Center, according to coroner Darryl Ables of Aiken County. Your body will be autopsied on Newberry.
MPs said they believed the incident was a random crime.
The couple told police that they saw the man walking through the neighborhood, but did not know the reason for the attack.
According to the incident report, Runnels lived just a block or two from the victims on Marks Road, which could explain why they saw him in the area.
Jim Paradis has lived around the corner for 25 years and says he knows the victims well.
“He was a lifelong military man. Served all over the world, ”said Paradis. “It’s a shame because they are very, very good people. Very sweet, honest, very helpful. “
And although the people here are agitated, Paradis says in the words of his friends who were attacked: This will also pass.
“We make decisions in our lives every day and, you know, he made the wrong decision,” he said.
News 12 chose not to disclose the names of the victims out of respect for them and their families as they recover from this incident.
We have been informed that the couple taken to the hospital has already been discharged and must be well.
The Aiken County Coroner’s Office and Aiken County Sheriff’s Office continue the investigation.
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