Chicago man charged in ‘unprovoked attack’ on 77-year-old at mall
LINCOLNWOOD IL Jan 23 2022 — A 77-year-old man remained hospitalized this week after sustaining head injuries when he was knocked to the ground by a stranger at a shopping mall in Lincolnwood, police said.
Omar Alsayed, 34, of the 6300 block of North Sacramento Avenue, Chicago, is facing a charge of aggravated battery in connection with the Jan. 10 attack on the man, which Lincolnwood Deputy Police Chief Travis Raypole called “unprovoked.”
Raypole said the victim and his wife were walking on the upper level of Lincolnwood Town Center, 3333 W. Touhy Ave., shortly before 11 a.m. on Jan. 10 when a man, later identified as Alsayed, approached.
As he came near the man, Alsayed used his shoulder to strike the victim’s chest, knocking him to the ground and causing him to strike his head, Raypole said.
“This was definitely not an accident,” he said. “It was an unprovoked attack.”
The blow to the victim’s head left him unconscious, the deputy police chief said.
While the victim’s wife tried to help him and mall security officers responded, Alsayed left the shopping center, Raypole said.
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The victim, a Chicago resident, was initially placed in intensive care at an area hospital, police said. As of Friday, he remained hospitalized, but was no longer in intensive care, Raypole said.
Using surveillance video and a witness, investigators identified Alsayed as the person who shoved the man, Raypole said. He was taken into custody three days later during a traffic stop that was conducted on his car in an area near Lincolnwood Town Center at McCormick Boulevard and Touhy Avenue, Raypole said.
During a hearing on Jan. 14, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Anthony Calabrese set bond for Alsayed at $250,000 and he remained in custody at Cook County Jail this week, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
