Eighty-nine-year-old Glenda of Hastings had just enjoyed a Saturday afternoon with her three daughters, who had come over to help plan a big celebration for her upcoming 90th birthday.
After her daughters left, Glenda settled into her living room, looking forward to a quiet, relaxing evening. But the peace didn’t last long.
Suddenly, she heard a loud crash coming from the direction of her garage. She got up to investigate, peeked into her kitchen and was met with a terrifying sight: a large, naked man smashing everything in sight.
And Glenda had a pretty good idea who he was.
The man, she believed, lived in a group home across the street and had already been involved in three significant incidents in her neighborhood since mid-August.
“I thought I am victim four,” she told Alpha News.
Before he could spot her, Glenda slipped out the front door and fled to a neighbor’s house. From the front lawn, she could hear the sound of her belongings being destroyed inside the home where she has lived for 55 years.
WATCH: A naked man breaks into an elderly woman’s home in Hastings and destroys five rooms in a rampage, leaving a trail of blood and feces after escaping from a group home across the street. pic.twitter.com/eQuClpFKjr
— Jenna Gloeb (@JennaReports) October 2, 2026
Glenda estimates it took Hastings police about eight minutes to arrive. By then, the man had left a trail of destruction through five rooms of her house.
Beds were flipped over. Chests of drawers were overturned. Her refrigerator had been emptied, glass was shattered throughout the home. His smeared blood from broken glass and feces were left behind.
But some of the most painful losses weren’t things that could simply be replaced.
Glenda’s husband, who died 22 years ago, was a woodworker, and many of the treasured items he had made were among the belongings destroyed.
“The personal hurt, the invasion, was so traumatic and the loss of personal things,” she said. “I know every inch of the home.”
‘I thought I am victim four’
As terrifying as the ordeal was, Glenda says what makes it even more difficult to accept is that she believes it could have been prevented.
According to Glenda, the man had been living in a group home operated by Mains’l across the street since mid-August. During that time, she alleges he’s been involved in three other significant incidents in her neighborhood.
Glenda said she was told the man, whom she described as nonverbal, had attacked one of his female caregivers shortly before entering her home.
While staff members were tending to the injured woman, he reportedly escaped, ran across the busy street and entered Glenda’s house through her open garage door.
She said the man had four attendants assigned to him, leaving her questioning how he managed to escape and why he had remained at the facility following the previous incidents.
“This man was returned to the home, and it was so obvious they couldn’t contain him,” she said. “How can the four of you not contain him?”
Glenda said her frustration is not directed at people who need residential care or the group home model itself. Rather, she believes the repeated incidents raise serious questions about staffing, supervision and whether the man was appropriately placed in the first place.
“I’m not opposed to the group home model in Minnesota, it’s about who is staffing them. Something fell through the cracks and that happens, but this should have been a big red flag after the first incident,” she said. “They have to vet their clients and place them properly.”
Hastings police acknowledge concerns, group home responds
Hastings Police Chief Kyle Linscheid confirmed to Alpha News that his department is aware of issues involving the group home and is working with individuals running it.
“We are aware of the concerns at that address and members of HPD are having ongoing conversations with the leadership team of the group home to address those concerns,” Linscheid told Alpha News.
However, he declined to discuss the incidents in greater detail, citing active cases. Alpha News has submitted a public data request seeking records of police responses to the group home’s address.
Mains’l CEO Jon Fisher also responded to Alpha News, saying the organization is cooperating with the appropriate authorities while protecting the privacy of the individuals it serves.
“The dignity and safety of all people are our highest priorities at Mains’l. Our values dictate that we honor the privacy of those we support,” Fisher said. “We are taking this matter seriously and are working closely with the appropriate authorities and partners. Our organization remains fully committed to offering supports to all people to live with meaning and purpose.”
Glenda said she and her neighbors have since been assured that the man will not be allowed to return to the group home.
Glenda’s daughter told Alpha News she was informed that Mains’l has terminated its lease at the Hastings home and does not plan to provide services at the location again. She also said Mains’l has offered to help facilitate repairs to Glenda’s home and pay for the damage.
‘A major scar in the spirit of the neighborhood’
Glenda said she considers herself fortunate to have escaped without being physically harmed, particularly given what she was told about the alleged attack on the man’s caregiver.
But the emotional toll of watching more than five decades of memories destroyed has been difficult to shake.
“It’s hard to accept that it happened,” she said.
And while she has been assured the man will not return to the group home, Glenda says the ordeal has left a lasting mark on a neighborhood she describes as compassionate and close-knit.
“It’s been a major scar in the spirit of the neighborhood,” she said. “We’re all good, compassionate people here. We’re sorry we had to live through this.”
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
