Dog walker, 68, ‘smashed young boy’s face into ground after being struck by snowball’
An elderly dog walker smashed a 9-year-old boy’s face into the ground, knocking him unconscious after the boy hit him with a snowball, police say.
Gordon Van Hassel, 68, has been charged with felony aggravated assault of a victim under the age of 12 for the incident that occurred on Friday in Douglas North Dakota.
Police say a group of boys were throwing snowballs at each other at a church when Van Hassel walked by with his dog.
One of the boys reportedly threw a snowball at Van Hassel. He initially retaliated by throwing rocks at the youngsters while shouting at them – but then he charged the boys.
Van Hassel reportedly pushed to boy who hit him with a snowball into a truck, then threw him to the ground. He then began kicking the boy and slamming his face into the ground, knocking the boy unconscious, the Grand Forks Herald reported.
The boy reportedly suffered injuries to the face, head, abdomen, and legs. He was carried home on a sled by an adult.
At the time of the attack, the boy’s grandfather had been babysitting him and rushed him to the Trinity Hospital emergency room.
Boyz II Men’s Shawn Stockman defends Gina Rodriguez for using the n-wordA Ward County Sheriff interviewed the boy and noted that he could not walk on his left leg.
Officers arrived at Van Hassel’s home and asked if they knew why he was there. He replied, ‘For beating up that kid,’ according to KFYR-TV.
He booked at the Ward County Jail, where he admitted to knocking the boy to the ground after claiming the children harassed him.
Van Hassel faces up to ten years in prison if he is convicted of the felony aggravated assault charge.