(FYI – Socorro is 20 minutes east of Downtown El Paso.)

Four black men sought in what police call a hate crime

By Jacob Rascon

SOCORRO, Texas — Socorro police and the FBI are looking for four men who police say attacked and raped an elderly man who was out on his early-morning walk.

Investigators said the 70-year-old was walking Thursday around 6 a.m. at Valle del Sol Park on Valle Rico Road and Valle Fertil when they said four black men got out of a late-’90s Ford or Chevrolet van or minivan and demanded the Mexican-American man to give them money. When he said, “No,” they allegedly grabbed him, threw him in the van and raped him.

Socorro spokesman David Garcia said the men yelled racial slurs at the victim as they assaulted him.

“These four people know each other well enough to do something like this in front of each other. This is an atrocity!” Garcia said. “This man was somebody’s dad. This man was somebody’s brother, somebody’s friend.”

He said the victim was so badly hurt, he had surgery and is in serious condition at a hospital.

“I think that’s ridiculous. A 70-year-old man getting taken and raped by an unknown vehicle, you know,” Christian Nevarez, 23, said. He lives in the neighborhood and said he usually wakes up early and sees several people taking walks along the park. He said children also walk to school early in the morning.

Police said the attackers are in their mid-20s to 30s. Call Socorro police at 915-858-6986 if you have any information in this case.

KFOX-14

Read more: http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/news/elderly-man-raped-socorro/nFT9K/