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Police Seek Suspect After Assault On 84-Year-Old Man

ST. JAMES, Minn. (WCCO) – An 84-year-old man is in serious condition after a stranger beat him in a small Minnesota town in broad daylight on Monday.

Police say Pascual Sanchez was beaten outside his home in St. James in Watonwan County.

Sanchez's family says he was working on a bike in the front yard in the early afternoon when he was attacked.

Police say Sanchez exchanged words with a young man who was walking by. Shortly after, the man returned, attacked Sanchez and fled.

Pascual Hulloa Sanchez 1
Pascual Sanchez recovering in the hospital (credit: CBS)

"It breaks my heart, because all he was doing was fixing his bike," said Yasmine Sanchez, the victim's granddaughter.

She added: "He's really loving and caring, he would probably give you a shirt off his back if you asked for that."

Yasmine, who also lives in St. James, got a phone call from a family member after the assault and went over to help her grandfather as he waited for an ambulance.

She says Sanchez walked to the main road bloodied and beaten to find strangers, who called for help.

Emergency crews brought Sanchez to a local hospital before airlifting him to North Memorial Medical Center in the Twin Cities.

Hospital officials say Sanchez suffered a broken arm, a broken nose, bleeding in his brain, fractures to his face, and a broken hand.

st. james assault 84yo victim
(credit: CBS)

"I think the most concerning part of this assault is Mr. Sanchez's age -- to have an 80-year-old man get beat up by a younger male, that's very concerning to the police department," said St. James Police Chief Ricky Eisfeld.

Police are asking for any witnesses to call the department at 507-375-3222.

"We're going to work very diligently to solve this," Eisfeld said.

Sanchez's family is also urging those with information to contact police.

"Just help us find him, whoever did it to him," Yasmine Sanchez said.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family pay for Sanchez's medical expenses.

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