NEW ORLEANS – A disabled man is recovering after being beaten and robbed behind the MacArthur Shopping Center.
According to police, it was about 2 a.m. when the 56-year-old man was looking through a dumpster. Someone came up behind him and knocked him out of his wheelchair. Police say the suspect then kicked the wheelchair-bound man in the face and body repeatedly.
“That’s pathetic,” said Trendy R. McAlmont, who live in the neighborhood. “Whoever disrespects someone in a wheelchair needs to be found.”
While at the scene, we met a man in a wheelchair who identified himself as the victim of the attack, but didn’t want to be identified. His left eye was bruised shut and he was having trouble speaking, but he managed to tell us that he would be fine.
Michael Morris with Creative Heads has been in the area for the last decade. He was surprised by the attack.
“This is a good neighborhood. We have a few things that go on every now and then but other than that this is a great neighborhood," he said.
Finding the suspect could be tricky, since there were no witnesses, but neighbors are hoping for justice.
“It needs to be resolved,” McAlmont said. “Things like this shouldn’t be happening in the neighborhood.”