Authorities search for suspects in brutal beating of 92-year-old man

Authorities are searching for multiple suspects following an attack on a 92-year-old man in South Los Angeles last week.

Rodolfo Rodriguez had gone out for his daily walk in Willowbrook about 7 p.m. July 4 when he was assaulted, according to a GoFundMe campaign set up by Rodriguez’s family. Rodriguez has a broken cheekbone and bruises on his face.

His family told KTLA that a woman confronted Rodriguez after he reportedly bumped into a little girl who was with her. Rodriguez was then struck from behind and “as he fell on the ground, he blacked out,” according to Det. Matt Luna, with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

“The mom pushes him to the floor and grabs the brick and starts beating on him,” Rodriguez’s grandson, Erik Mendoza, told KTLA. Then, a few other men joined in, Mendoza said.

Misbel Borjas, who lives near Rodriguez, was passing by in a car when she saw Rodriguez walking and trying to pass the woman and the girl. Then, Borjas said, she saw the woman push Rodriguez and start to hit him with a block of cement.

“She was yelling at him, ‘Go back to your country,’ or ‘Go back to Mexico,’” Borjas recalled. “It was racist.”

Luna said authorities are still trying to verify what the woman said to Rodriguez.

Borjas was able to snap a photo of the woman, who began to walk away. Borjas said as she was on the phone with 911, a few men returned to assault Rodriguez while he was on the ground.

There were possibly three to four other men who were involved in the attack, Luna said.

“We have a witness that can identify the female, but that’s it,” Luna said. “We have no leads at this time.”

brittny.mejia@latimes.com

Twitter: @Brittny_Mejia

UPDATES:

3:35 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from a witness.

3:05 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details from the detective.

This article was originally published at 9:45 a.m.