WARNING: This story contains graphic images. Please read at your own discretion.
Authorities in Lancaster, Calif., say they are looking for two suspects in connection with a brutal attack on an elderly man in the bathroom of a grocery store on Wednesday.
Roberto Flores Lopez, 80, was shopping with his wife at Superior Grocers when he stepped away to use the restroom, his son Francisco Ordorico told KTLA 5. That’s when someone ambushed him, took his wallet and beat him, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lancaster station.
“Someone found him inside the bathroom and he was bleeding on the floor,” Ordorico told the news station. His family says the alleged attacker took his wallet, which probably had about $20 in it.
Lopez was rushed to hospital following the attack, which left him with several broken ribs as well as a broken nose, cheekbone and jaw. Ordorico says it’s lucky that another shopper found him quickly because he might have bled out due to his blood thinners.
“I just don’t understand how someone can brutally hurt an old man,” Lopez’s daughter, Cecilia Ramirez, told ABC 7. “My dad’s 80 years old. He doesn’t hurt anybody.”
Two suspects are wanted in connection with the incident, the sheriff’s station says.
The man suspected of attacking Lopez is described as a man in his early 20s, standing about five feet eight inches tall and weighing approximately 250 pounds. Security footage shows him wearing a light-coloured T-shirt, shorts and a black coronavirus mask with a white teeth design on it.
Authorities are also looking for a woman who was seen accompanying the man at the store. They released photos of the suspects on Thursday.
The family has raised more than $22,000 through a GoFundMe to cover Lopez’s hospital bills.
Police are urging anyone with information on the suspects to come forward.