A Texas man who accidentally entered the wrong home and attacked his elderly neighbor thinking he was an intruder has since been taken into custody.
The incident, detailed in reports by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, took place at approximately 1:25AM on Monday (March 25) when Eric Collazo mistakenly accessed the home of an elderly man using his own house key.
According to the account provided to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, the elderly resident recalled that he was startled while heading to the bathroom by the sudden appearance of a tall figure clad entirely in black.
Subsequently, he found himself under attack by the intruder, who was later identified as Collazo.
Following the altercation, the elderly man was rushed to a local hospital, where he is reported to be in stable condition but recovering from several injuries, including three broken ribs, as per information obtained by KSAT-TV.
Law enforcement officials were able to tie Collazo to the scene of the incident through recovered evidence, notably a cell phone left behind in the bathroom.
Additionally, authorities noted a strong smell of alcohol on Collazo during their interactions with him.
Collazo was subsequently arrested and charged with one count of injury to an elderly person causing bodily harm, based on records reviewed by PEOPLE.
He has since posted bail set at $10,000, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 1.
Further investigations into the matter revealed that Collazo's house key was found to be compatible with the lock on the elderly man's front door, raising concerns among neighbors.
Johnny Garcia, a public information officer for BCSO, revealed to KSAT-TV: "Upon deputies checking the suspect's key to verify if in fact could open the victim's door, the key in fact worked to open the door."
Garcia went on: "It is unknown as to how the key works at the victim's residence, however, investigators believe the issue may be related to the builder of the residences."
The peculiar nature of the incident has left residents in the area both worried and puzzled. Mark Ariaz, a neighbor, expressed his confusion, telling KSAT-TV: "It boggles my mind." He described the situation as "unfortunate."
Similarly, Patricia Montero, another resident in the neighborhood, said: "It's very strange that someone can enter a house that they have no connection to with the key of their actual home."
