STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — A 76-year-old man was seriously hurt after being randomly attacked while out for a walk in Sterling Heights Tuesday morning.
The suspect was taken into custody and police believe he may have had mental health issues.
It happened just after 8 a.m. on Riverland Drive between two sections of the Clinton River Trail system in Sterling Heights.
Linda Lucia was driving by when she saw the men on the ground. She saw a few cars pulled over nearby and thought it was road rage at first, and she started filming it with her cellphone. But she quickly ended the video and called 911 when she realized it was serious.
"I noticed two people who were basically in a scuffle… But the closer I got, I noticed it was something completely different,” Lucia said. "Older gentleman was on the ground bleeding calling out for help and it seemed like the younger guy was really trying to do some damage on him.”
Police say the 76-year-old victim had been out for a walk when the suspect, a Shelby Township man in his early 30s, made some odd remarks and then attacked.
“He was beating him. I mean, full on punches,” Lucia said. "Both eyes were just completely bruised, just battered, and he was still trying to fight him off at that point.”
Police also say the victim was stabbed, suffering a superficial wound to the shoulder.
“It looked like he (suspect) basically took a large pair of scissors, broke them and just used the sharp part,” Lucia said.
Lucia says she and another good Samaritan tried to distract the suspect as they waited for police to arrive. Once police showed up, the suspect ran off. He was quickly caught and Lucia went up to the victim.
“He (victim) just kept saying 'thank you. Thank you. God bless you,'" Lucia said. "It's sad that this is the world that we live in.”
Police say the suspect likely has mental health issues. Lucia is thankful the victim will be OK, but she’s still startled that this random attack happened near her home.
“It's scary. It's definitely scary,” Lucia said. "You usually don't think that when you're going to go take a nice stroll in the morning or go for a nice exercise or walk or whatever that you're going to get attacked.”
