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Elderly Chicago sweeper sucker-punched by violent thug as city witnesses record crime surge in recent months

Chicago Police are seeking information about the July 23 incident after sharing video footage of the attack on Twitter

Law enforcement in Chicago is looking for the perpetrator of an unprovoked attack on an elderly gent who was sweeping the city's streets. Chicago Police are seeking information about the July 23 incident after sharing video footage of the attack on Twitter earlier this week, ABC7 reported. The senior citizen is seen in the clip wearing a mask and cleaning the sidewalk with a dustpan and brush when the suspect approaches and clocks him in the face unprovoked. The elderly man, as a result, stumbles and falls over backwards as the perpetrator runs away from the scene. "Help Detectives identify the subject seen in this video where a Battery of Senior Citizen occurred on the 100 block of West Jackson Blvd on July 23 approx. 2:50 PM," Chicago Police shared the video on its Twitter, August 16.

Viewers are warned not to approach the man at the end of the clip, and instead call 911 if they have any information. The video elicited various responses from viewers, with some calling the footage 'sickening' and others saying they hope the culprit is caught.

"Lives of people who work their asses off every day and pay taxes without representation matter and they deserve protection from lawless cowards like the punk pictured in this video," Mark Wheeler, 46th Ward Committeeman for the Chicago Republican Party, tweeted. "The only question is how much longer are we going to allow it. #disgusted," he added.

Chicago has witnessed a spike in violent crimes in recent months. ABC7 reported how 51 people were shot over the weekend of August 15-16. Among those injured was a 14-year-old boy and six other teenagers. The latest shooting was reported on the of morning August 16, when officers discovered a man shot to death in the driver's seat of a car at 5:05 am. The victim, thought to be in his 20s, was found with a fatal gunshot wound to the head.

The previous night, 18-year-old Tamyreon Jordan was found lying on the sidewalk with gunshot wounds to his head and chest. Authorities pronounced him dead at the scene. Two fatal shootings were reported the night before on August 14. Authorities found Jeremy Curry, 28, unresponsive in the driver’s seat of a parked car at 11:17 pm with gunshot wounds to his arm and chest. A couple of hours earlier, a 48-year-old man was found with a fatal gunshot wound.

That said, the weekend before recorded 40 shootings and another four deaths, including that of 20-year-old Latrell Allen, who was reportedly shot to death during an encounter with Chicago police.

In July, President Donald Trump deployed 100 federal agents to Chicago to help combat rising rates of violent crimes in the city. “The effort to shut down police in their own communities has led to a shocking explosion of shootings, killing, violence, murders,” the president told reporters in the White House’s East Room at the time. “This rampage of violence shocks the conscience of our nation and we will not stand by and watch it happen.”

In response, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said, “We welcome partnership, not dictatorship, and will never tolerate the kind of unconstitutional deployment and state-sanctioned lawlessness we saw in Portland.”