A 19-year-old Muslim woman was violently attacked by a man in an American hospital emergency room lobby, local media reported on Friday.
The young woman, who was wearing hijab, was simply checking-in at the emergency room of a hospital in Dearborn, Michigan when a recently discharged patient began hitting her.
Disturbing security footage of the violent incident shows the male perpetrator, identified as 57-year-old John Deliz, coming from behind and punching the unsuspecting woman in the head several times before he is stopped and tackled by a security guard.
"She never saw it coming," said Majed Moughni, the victim’s attorney, told local media.
Hospital security restrained Deliz and staff called police. Officers arrived quickly to arrest the man and charge him with assault.
“Beaumont [Hospital] security personnel responded immediately and took action to protect the patient and others in the emergency room,” the hospital said in a statement.
“Dearborn Police were contacted and Beaumont staff cooperated fully in the investigation. We take pride in our service to this diverse community and want all patients to feel welcome at Beaumont.”
According to the police report, Deliz had been wandering around the lobby asking other patients for cigarettes prior to attacking the young woman. Hospital staff had already spoken to him, telling him he could stay to wait for a ride but needed to stop harassing other people.
Why Deliz chose to attack the young woman is unclear, but she remains traumatized.
"She’ll never probably be the same person again. She’s emotionally distressed. She’s always looking behind her to make sure she’s not going to get attacked again," Moughni said of his client.
The victim is also suing the hospital for not properly protecting patients from potentially violent individuals.
Explaining the lawsuit to FOX 2 Detroit, Moughni said: "[Delize] was accosting other patients and going up to other patients asking for money and asking for cigarettes."
"Most of us when we go to hospitals, we're at the weakest point of our life," the lawyer said.
"We are sick, we need help. The last thing we expect is a blow to the head. And a blow to a head from a total stranger. There has to be a lesson learned here. In a civilized society, you can't just punch someone and knock them to the ground. It should not be tolerated."
Although it's unclear whether the man's actions were motivated by Islamophobia, attacks and harassment targeting Muslims have been on the rise in the Unite States.
According to a CNN report last August, an average of nine mosques in the United States were attacked every month in 2017, or at least two per week. In total, there were 63 publicly reported mosque attacks spanning more than 26 states.
FBI statistics also reveal that anti-Muslim hate crimes rose by 67 percent in 2015. The number of anti-Muslim hate groups also tripled in the U.S. from 2015 to 2016 – a surge of 197 percent – according to a 2017 report by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).