LAUDERHILL, Fla. – Police in Broward County arrested a man for an alleged hate crime on an elderly victim.
It happened on Saturday at approximately 1:30 p.m. along the 6400 block of Northwest 44th Street in Lauderhill.
According to police, responding officers arrived to find a man suffering from bruised eyes, several facial abrasions and severe body pain.
The victim told officers he had been attacked by an unknown man, unprovoked, while he was walking down Northwest 44th Street.
Police said the victim was over the age of 65 and was wearing “clothing that were traditional to his faith.”
The victim told officers that while he was being attacked by the suspect, who has since been identified as 42-year-old Trevor Rodney, he was called a racial slur.
Local 10 News spoke to Rabbi Yaniv Moryosef, of 770 Moshiach Center in Lauderhill.
He said it was his father who was the victim of the attack.
“I feel very sorry for a person that’s able to carry so much hate in him,” Moryosef said. “It is something totally against humanity.”
A Good Samaritan saw the attack and yelled for the suspect to stop, police said.
Officers arrived and were able to locate Rodney along the 6900 block of Northwest 44th Street.
He was arrested and taken to the Broward County Main Jail.
The victim was taken to Broward Health Medical Center for treatment.
“My father actually at a certain point broke and cried and said, ‘I don’t believe I need to go through such a thing here in this neighborhood,’” said Moryosef. “It is a trauma at his age.”