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Public's Help Sought to ID Attacker of 88-Year-Old Man in Hollywood

A robber hurled the 88-year-old victim against the wall and floor after following him from the bus Aug. 19, police said

Detectives on Friday sought the public’s help to identify the man who attacked an 88-year-old man in an armed robbery in Hollywood in an incident that was caught on surveillance camera.

Video from Aug. 19 shows an armed robber following 88-year-old John Fu into an apartment complex and hurling him against the wall and floor, according to a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department.

"And when I get in the bus, I sit down, he followed me and sit besides me," Fu said.

The assailant had followed Fu for five blocks after he got off a bus at Hollywood Boulevard and Bronson Avenue, down the 5900 block of Carlos Way, through the parking lot of the apartment complex and into the apartment building, police said.

The attacker confronted the victim twice demanding money, but the victim ignored him and continued walking before the attack, police said.

"At one point you can see the victim trying to push the door off, so that the suspect doesn't walk inside, but the suspect is too strong," LAPD Officer Nuria Vanegas said. 

The victim finally handed over money in the elevator, but his assailant wanted more and punched him several times before leaving, police said, citing elevator surveillance footage.

"It is sad, in the video you can clearly see that the victim cannot defend himself," Vanegas said. "I believe detectives have now exhausted all of their leads and they don't have any information of who the suspect is."

The robber is described as white or Hispanic with black hair and brown eyes, and around 25 years old. He stands 5 foot 8 and weighs 150 pounds.

At the time of the incident he was wearing a gray baseball cap with a red bill, a black T-shirt with white print on the front, floral shorts and black tennis shoes.

"I want to catch the bad guy of course, but they say they didn't catch him," Fu said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Hollywood officers at 213-972-2933 or 213-972-2936, or 877-LAPD-24-7 during nonbusiness hours or weekends.

Samia Khan contributed to this report.

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