Inset: Dr. Ellena Gooch-Reid (Facebook). Background: The Ripley Police Department in Ripley, Tenn. (Google Maps).
A Tennessee woman with a history of standing up for others was attacked in her own home while trying to help a young person.
Dr. Ellena Gooch-Reid, 87, is recovering from being beaten and left for dead during a home invasion on Sept. 9. On Tuesday, Ripley Police Chief Mitchell Turner announced that warrants were issued for the arrests of two suspects, Kevin Harper Jr. and an unnamed juvenile. Neither suspect has been arrested as of Wednesday. According to reporting by local NBC affiliate WMC, Gooch-Reid has been in and out of the hospital since the attack, but is recovering.
In Turner's press release, he said both suspects face several felony charges in connection with the alleged attack, including attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault, especially aggravated burglary, especially aggravated robbery, and aggravated abuse of an elderly person.
WMC conducted an interview with Gooch-Reid as she recovered from the attack. The civil rights activist and minister, who once stood alongside the late Rep. John Lewis, told the outlet that she had "nine wounds" in her head, chest and arms.
Gooch-Reid said that right before the attack, "I had helped someone, a young person, to get some clothes for school, which is one of the things that I do. And I believe he was the one who came into my house and robbed me." WMC reported that Gooch-Reid told police that she remembered an older man coming into her house and hitting her in the head with his fist and his open hand.
According to WMC, Gooch-Reid was found on the floor in a puddle of her own blood. A police report obtained by WMC stated that Gooch-Reid had fractures in her right hand and left arm.
Gooch-Reid told WMC, "I am reliving the experience through nightmares, and that's hard."
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