DETROIT (WWJ) -- A 74-year-old man will spend years behind bars after his sentencing Thursday in connection with a knife attack on a child at a Detroit park.
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said Gary Lansky of Detroit entered a plea of guilty but mentally ill to Assault with Intent to Murder, and was sentenced 7 years to 15 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC).
The case dates back to a Tuesday afternoon in October of last year, when the 7-year-old victim was playing Ryan Park, in the area of Greenview and Kirkwood, with her grandmother and three other children.
Family members said Lansky approached the girl, grabbed her by her head, tilted it back and slashed her throat with a pocketknife.
The child kicked Lansky, ran away, and was helped by a neighbor who gave her gauze to stop the bleeding.
Lansky fled the scene, but was later arrested.
While it was noted in media reports that the victim is a Yemeni-American Muslim, investigators said they did not believe this was a hate crime, and that Lansky was experiencing a mental crisis at the time of the attack.
Following the incident, the Michigan Chapter of Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) urged police to conduct a thorough investigation.
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.”
Prosecutors said Thursday that Lansky was also sentenced on a Felonious Assault case involving a relative where he received a sentence of 1 year to 4 years in prison.
The sentences will run concurrently.