New York: A psychiatric patient at Palms West Hospital in Florida brutally attacked a 67-year-old Indian-origin nurse Leelamma Lal inflicting severe facial fractures, The Indian Express reported.
Police arrested 33-year-old Stephen Scantlebury after charging him with attempted second-degree murder and hate crime linked to racist remarks.
Local news channel WPBF reported quoting the arrest affidavit: ‘Scantlebury was a psychiatric patient on a Baker Act hold’.
It means that Stephen Scantlebury was admitted to the hospital involuntarily after facing a mental health crisis.
Scantlebury punched repeatedly on the face of the veteran nurse of over 20 years when she checked on him, breaking nearly every bone in her face.
Scantlebury fled the scene following the attack but was quickly apprehended.
Prosecutors sought to apply hate crime enhancements after he shouted that ‘Indians are bad. I just beat the s*** out of an Indian doctor’.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office was quoted as saying: ‘Hate crime enhancements, if proven, can result in harsher penalties upon conviction. They highlight the motive behind the defendant’s actions and their broader impact on the community.’
Meanwhile, authorities said that Lal is likely to lose the use of both eyes from the injuries.
Responding to the incident the Indian Nurses Association of South Florida demanded stronger protection for healthcare workers.