BruceysMom, I agree with you, I'm on the east coast and meth labs are popping up all over the place. It's having a devastating effect on the generation of young adults and there is no one that is immune, all races, all classes, all ages. And yes, elderly people have even been charged with dealing it.
It is awful that these two elderly people were injured, however, if you read the article link to Fox, there is a little more info as well as in several other papers.
The houses were on one lot, which could indicate it's either a rental or family members living in the other one. When they went into the smaller of the two there was a woman cooking up a batch and they arrested her, they also arrested another guy who was probably her spouse. The elderly couple requested that their names not be printed. Was this because one of the people arrested was perhaps their son or daughter and they were mortified? Were the kids sleeping their granchildren who they probably had at their own house because of what their parents were doing? For all we know the elderly couple may be very grateful that the cops raided their house and put an end to the situation. For all we know, they may have been dealing with far worse situation than bruised ribs and a dislocated shoulder if their kids were infact dealing and taking advantage of them. There are two sides to every story and what is printed more often than not is just one side.
Going into a meth lab is an extremely volatile situation, not only because you might encounter a hopped up drug user with weaapons, but also because it is highly explosive and therefore requires protective gear. In fact disassembling a meth lab requires special training as well as a hazmat team.
The guys that go in to do that are also exposed to serious health risks. The residue that the meth lab leaves behind can pose serious health hazards to future occupants and in quite a few states they are introducing laws which hold real estate agents and landlords accountable for the property in which it must be disclosed to buyers or renters. Entire families have become seriously ill from moving into homes that were once meth labs and in which they were not informed of and only learned about from researching the property.
Meth is an extremely devastating drug and I would be much more concerned for my family's safety living next to one than from the cops mistakenly raiding my house.