At Retirement Home : Open Door Reportedly Sparked Attack

El Cajon police said Thursday that a 73-year-old man who allegedly attacked three women at a retirement home Wednesday was upset about a dining-room door being kept open for handicapped senior citizens.

“The suspect had been arguing with other females over minor, minor things, over whether a particular door should be open or should be closed. But at least to him it was somewhat of a concern,” Lt. Randy Narramore said.

Bernard Nass, a resident of the Premier Manor Retirement Hotel, was being held at County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. The three women were struck with a 13-inch-long knife-sharpener.

Narramore said Nass struck the victims on the head with the knife-sharpener, causing cuts and bruises. Joseph Weiss, owner of the retirement home, said Nass had been upset lately with the women in the home and resented having females near him.

Shortly before the attack, Nass argued with Lilian Neben, 86, about having the dining-room door open because she walked with crutches. Police said he then attacked Neben in her room, then assaulted the two other women in the dining room. Neben was treated at a hospital for cuts and bruises to the face and released Thursday to the retirement hotel.

Rose Rozenfeld, 80, was treated for similar injuries and released Wednesday night. Frada Sampson, 80, was at AMI Valley Medical Center Thursday in satisfactory condition with cuts and bruises to the head and face, hospital spokesman Wayne Wilson said.

Weiss said Nass had been upset for more than a week about keeping the dining room door closed.

But “he gave no rhyme or reason as to why he was upset” by the doors being open, Weiss said.

The doors are usually kept open so that disabled residents can enter the dining room more easily.

Weiss said Nass was reprimanded several times by the facility’s administrators for closing the doors.

Administrators described Nass as a devoutly religious loner who would pray loudly in his room, which irritated neighboring residents. He had been living there for two years.

“He didn’t cause any (other) problems,” Weiss said. “He would just irritate people because he prayed loud in his room. He was kind of an abrasive man, but he made no threats to anyone.”

Police and retirement home officials credited 70-year-old Tony Alvarez, dubbed the “youngster” by other residents, for restraining the alleged assailant and holding him until police arrived.

Police said Alvarez grabbed Nass from behind and dragged him to the main office, where he was held until police arrived.

“We keep saying thank God no one was hurt seriously. We’re also sorry for Mr. Nass,” Weiss said. He added that Nass would be forbidden from returning to the home.