Police: Suspect in downtown Detroit elderly German tourist attack may suffer mental issues

DETROIT (FOX 2) - In a few seconds, a German family’s life forever changed when an 81-year-old man visiting downtown Detroit, on a cruise ship was attacked.

The elderly victim's condition is said to be grave, with more relatives flying into Detroit to be at his side.

He was sucker punched by an employee who worked in one of the shops in the Compuware Building, near Campus Martius.

"This happened very quickly, seconds," said Cmdr Matthew Fulgenzi, Detroit police. "He was mad for whatever reason and took his anger out on this elderly gentleman."

Thirty-year-old Lawrence Gilchrist is now facing serious assault charges – allegedly admitting to Detroit police what he did. It came out in court Tuesday.

"You informed the officer, 'I knocked his a** out,'" the judge said, reading the report.

We’re learning from Fulgenzi that mental health issues might have played a role, in a situation investigators are calling isolated.

"He approached the victim, there were some words exchanged and he ultimately struck the victim in the face," he said.

And then, the elderly man fell and hit his head. He’s unconscious and unresponsive in the hospital, on vacation with his wife originally, now calling the hospital home.

"I just checked in with his family, his two sons flew in from Germany and they’re in the local hospital," Fulgenzi said.

The commander called Gilchrist’s behavior troubling, and was asked about his prior offenses.

"He did have prior contact with law enforcement - very minor interactions, but we did have contact with him before," he said.

Some previous offenses for drunken behavior and some traffic stops – but alcohol or drugs are not believed to be a factor in this case.

Commander Fulgenzi, sending his thoughts to this family and wants to make this clear:

"Our downtown is amazing, extremely safe," he said. "This happened inside of a building where an employee made some very bad decisions.

DPD is monitoring the victim's condition because it may lead to more charges.

Lawrence Gilchrist