[dropcap size=big]A[/dropcap] GoFundMe campaign started by the grandson of a 92-year-old Los Angeles man who was badly beaten with a brick on the 4th of July more than doubled its goal to raise $15,000 dollars to help pay his extensive medical bills.
In just three days, donations racked up to $44,000 (and counting) for Rodolfo Rodriguez, who was allegedly beaten by a woman with a brick and five other men near the corner of 118th Street and Central Avenue in Willowbrook.
[UPDATE: Since this story was published on Monday afternoon, the GoFundMe campaign for Mr. Rodriguez is past $234,000 in donations, duplicating the original goal by more than TWELVE times.]
Rodriguez told authorities that he accidentally bumped into a woman’s small daughter on his daily walk. He said he apologized and turn to continue his walk when the woman hit him from behind, knocking him to the floor. She then allegedly picked up a brick and began to beat Rodriguez with the help of five others, according to the GoFundMe set up by grandson Erik Mendoza.
“He is doing really bad, has a lot of bruises on his face and a broken cheekbone,” Mendoza wrote on the GoFundMe which launched July 6.
A video, shot by a witness who called 911, became national news. It also started trending in Mexico, where Rodriguez is originally from.
Rodriguez, who is a legal U.S. resident with a multigenerational American family, was reportedly told to go back to his country during the incident, a witness told CBS Los Angeles. Rodriguez said he blacked out during the violence. He also told ABC that he wanted the people who hurt him to be found so they could pay for his medical bills.
The money raised by the GoFundMe will go toward that.
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