A 73-year-old man from Michigan faces accusations of attacking a 7-year-old girl by slashing her neck with a pocketknife in a park during the day.
Gary Lansky faces serious charges of assault with intent to murder and felonious assault following the attack on Saida Mashra.
Authorities reported that the incident took place on Tuesday at Lloyd H. Ryan Playground in Detroit.
Lansky confronted Saida while she was playing in the park, raised her face, and inflicted a throat wound with a pocketknife, the young victim recounted to Detroit Fox affiliate WJBK.
She fought back, screamed, and quickly made her way home as the assailant escaped.
A neighbor who heard the screams recounted to the ABC affiliate WXYZ that she quickly grabbed gauze pads to assist in stopping the bleeding, as the girl expressed, “Oh, I’m going to die, and nobody is going to be here with me,” according to the neighbor’s statement to the station.
Authorities arrived at the residence around 3:45 p.m. and discovered Saida receiving medical attention for a throat injury prior to her hospitalization.
According to local CBS affiliate WWJ, her mother, Sharhan, expressed that her daughter is fortunate to have survived.
Lansky was taken into custody later that day.
Lansky’s wife shared with the Detroit Free Press that her husband was dealing with a mental illness, though she did not provide further details.
No immediate evidence suggested the attack was driven by hate, yet it sparked demands for a hate crime inquiry.
During Lansky’s arraignment on Thursday, a bond of $2 million was set, requiring cash or surety, along with a GPS tether, and he was placed under house arrest, according to prosecutors.
He will return to court on Monday.