An elderly man’s evening stroll turned into a near-brush with death thanks to a group of racists.
Rodolfo Rodriguez, who is in his 90s, was taking his nightly walk on July 4th when he mistakenly bumped into a little girl on the sidewalk. According to a witness, a woman with the girl shoved Rodriguez to the ground and started beating him with her fists and then used a brick. Soon a group of men joined the beating. The woman, who asked to be called “Catherine,” took a picture of the woman.
Catherine told KCAL 9, a local CBS affiliate, “When I take the picture, she said, ‘Oh, he tried to touch my girl.’ I saw everything, this is a lie. And when the guys came, they hit him in the face, his body, everything.”
Catherine said the woman shouted, “Go back to your country, why are you here”
Another witness, Misbel Borjas, Rodriguez’s neighbor, told KTLA that when she tried to intervene the woman “tried to hit me with the same rock like [she] hit him.”
“I can’t walk anymore,” Rodriguez told CNN in Spanish. “I’m in so much pain.”
Rodriguez was born in Mexico and is now a legal resident of the United States, media outlets reported, but he does not speak English, according to his family, and does not know why he was attacked. He suffered head injuries, broken ribs and a broken cheekbone. He has bruises all over his body.
“I’m just overwhelmed how anybody can do this to a human being at all,” Eric Mendoza, Rodriguez’s grandson, told KCAL 9. “He’s 92 years of age. There’s no harm that he meant for you to treat him the way you did.”
The suspects in the beating remain at large. Authorities have viewed video footage and are looking for five perpetrators.
Borjas shared the video on Facebook of Rodriguez’s face after the attack.
WARNING: VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Mendoza started a GoFundMe page for his grandfather’s medical bills; it has raised over $161,000, surpassing its $15,000 goal.
People shared many supportive messages for the family.
I hope we can jointly show you how sickened we are by this and how we need to stand together against hate and racism.
My heart is breaking. You belong! Canada is praying for your recovery.
I cried when I read what happened to you. I’m ashamed of this country and so appalled that people are behaving in such a hateful manner. Please know you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers and that you are most certainly welcome to live here. I am so sorry this has happened to you.
I am outraged and disgusted. I hope your grandfather feels better very quickly. He comes across as a very dignified man and obviously has a loving family.
Dear Erik, I’m sorry this woman did this to your abuelo. I’m happy to contribute to this fund and I hope your next step will be to find the perpetrator. My heart is with you all.
