A manhunt is underway for five people suspected of beating a 92-year-old Los Angeles man and telling him to “go back to” Mexico, police have said.
Rodolfo Rodriguez, a legal US resident and grandfather living in the neighbourhood of Willowbrook, was out for his daily evening walk on 4 July when he reportedly, accidentally bumped into a woman walking along the same sidewalk with a child.
The woman proceeded to shove him to the ground and hit him over the head with a brick, according to Mr Rodriguez’s account of the incident.
Mr Rodriguez's neighbour, Misbel Borja, called the police and caught part of the incident on camera. Four men also allegedly kicked Mr Rodriguez several times, leaving his face and torso severely bruised and bleeding.
The woman continued to yell at him as well and according to Ms Borja, the woman said: “Go back to your country, why are you here, bad things”.
Ms Borjas said she also came under attack after she tried helping her friend and claims the woman at the scene “tried to hit me with the same rock” she allegedly used on Mr Rodriguez.
Mr Rodriguez does not speak English but his grandson Erik Mendoza told KTLA that his grandfather still does not know why he was attacked.
“How can you hurt a 92-year-old man? What kind of threat does he pose to you, for you to do this to him? That's why we're still in shock," Mr Mendoza said.
He remains in hospital with a broken cheekbone and two ribs, among other injuries.
After reviewing the video, Los Angeles Sheriff's Deputy D'Angelo Robinson said: "We are concerned, especially with the type of crime they committed. There was what appears to be a 4-year-old child there who witnessed the entire thing. We can't have these kind of people like that out in the streets”.
The four men and one woman seen in the video have not as yet been identified. Police have not labelled it as a "hate crime" or a racist attack as yet.
A crowdsourcing account has been set up to help pay for Mr Rodriguez’s medical treatment following the attack. It raised $34,000 of its $15,000 goal so far.
