Milwaukee man attacked with battery acid in possible hate crime
A man was arrested in Milwaukee on Sunday for allegedly tossing battery acid at another man — in what the victim believes was a hate crime, a report said.
The confrontation began last Friday night when the 61-year-old suspect flipped out over the spot where Mahud Villalaz, 42, parked his truck, the victim told WISN.
Villalaz told the outlet he moved the truck down the block to a legal spot, but when he returned to a nearby restaurant, the man still waiting for him and called him an “illegal.”
“I think I pissed him off because I told him, ‘This is my country. This isn’t your country. Everybody came from somewhere else here,’” Villalaz said.
The suspect then allegedly tossed battery acid at Villalaz, leaving him with burns to the left side of his face.
“The feeling was burning, and I tried to defend myself, but I couldn’t because I couldn’t open my eyes,” Villalaz said.
“I believe (I) am a victim of a hate crime because (of) how he approached me telling me to ‘get out this country,’” Villalaz told the outlet.
Cops charged the suspect with aggravated battery.
Milwaukee Alderman Jose Perez condemned the alleged attack.
“This was senseless violence and it needs to stop,” Perez said in a statement to WISN. “We as a community need to come together to work through our differences and learn to respect one another and defuse conflict.”
Villalaz’s family set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for the man’s medical bills. As of early Monday morning, nearly $16,000 had been raised.
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