DETROIT (WWJ) — A Detroit man in his 70s is behind bars for allegedly attacking a 7-year-old girl with a knife at a park on the city’s east side.
Gary Lansky, 73, was expected to be arraigned Thursday afternoon on charges of assault with intent to murder and felonious assault.
The charges are connected to an incident that happened around 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. Police were called to a home on Stahelin Avenue on report of a stabbing.
Responding officers found the young girl with a cut to her throat, being treated by medics.
Prosecutors say a couple blocks over at Ryan Park, in the area of Greenview and Kirkwood, Lansky approached the girl and cut her with a knife before fleeing the scene.
While the prosecutor’s office did not release any further details about the alleged attack, WXYZ reports that the girl says she was playing in the park when the man simply approached her and put a knife to her throat.
She then began screaming for help, kicked him and ran away, according to the report. A neighbor heard the screaming and rushed out to help the child. She gave her gauze to help stop the bleeding, according to the report.
While it has been noted in the media that the victim is a Yemeni-American Muslim, WXYZ reports that police do not believe this was a hate crime, and that Lansky was “experiencing a mental crisis at the time of the attack.”
The Michigan Chapter of Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) said in a news release Friday it has spoken with the family and with the Detroit Police and is monitoring this situation carefully.
CAIR-MI is calling on police and the prosecutor to conduct a thorough investigation into Lansky’s motives.
In a statement, CAIR-MI Executive Director, Dawud Walid said,
“CAIR-Michigan is saddened to hear about the attack of 7 year old Saida while playing in a park near her home. Regardless of the motive, this attack was a senseless act of violence that will impact the lives of Saida, her family, and all of the other children who were in the park that day.”
“While the charges faced by Garly Lansky are serious, we urge the Detroit Police Department and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office to conduct a comprehensive investigation into this matter to determine whether hate was a motivating factor in the attack.”