Trump shocked as Detroit man is seen punching elderly nursing home patient in viral video: 'Can this be real?'
On May 21, President Donald Trump reacted to the viral footage of a 75-year-old Michigan care home patient being beaten inside a nursing center.
“Is this even possible to believe? Can this be real? Where is this nursing home, how is the victim doing?” the president wrote. It was not immediately clear if the POTUS ordered an investigation into the incident.
You can watch the video here.
The graphic video in question was filmed inside the Westwood Nursing Center in Detroit where a 20-year-old African-American man, who is also believed to be a patient of the center, was seen repeatedly punching an elderly man while the latter was laying down. The old man tried to defend himself in vain as the younger man continued to treat his face as a punching bag. The assailant was then seen pulling up the victim into a sitting position as he swerves the camera to record the bleeding face of the elderly man. He proceeds to take one of the bedsheets and wipe the blood off the victim in a possible attempt to hide his wounds.
Police in Detroit, Ann Arbor and other parts of Michigan received calls about the video which started circulating on social media. They took to Twitter to thank the public for their vigilance in reporting the crime. "Thank you to everyone for your assistance in bringing the senior home incident to our attention," the department wrote. "The @detroitpolice is investigating the situation and an arrest has been made. Thank you again."
Following an investigation into the incident, the victim was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The suspect seen in the video was taken into custody and transported to the Detroit Detention Center without incident, according to The Detroit News. In a press conference held on Thursday, the Detroit police provided an update regarding the incident. The nursing home was unaware of the assault until they saw the video,” said Detroit Police Chief James Craig. “We are still investigating that aspect of the case, but we do have a suspect in custody.”
Although the police have not confirmed whether it was a hate crime, according to Daily Caller, the incident appeared to be racially motivated. Unconfirmed videos of the suspect assaulting other elderly individuals in the center have since surfaced online.
Joann Uhler, a Cleveland woman who spotted the video on social media and alerted authorities in Detroit told FOX 2: “It absolutely shattered my heart. It just broke my heart how anyone could be capable of this kind of brutality. How does this guy have free rein to go into other patients’ rooms and physically abuse them and no one is aware of it?”
Contrary to previous reports, the law firm representing the care home said the suspect was undergoing temporary rehabilitation treatment and was not a long-term resident of the facility. “Westwood has been cooperating with the police and will continue to do so,” the law firm said in a statement, according to WDIV. “The safety, health, and well-being of our residents remain a top priority of Westwood. We will continue to monitor the situation.”