OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) — A North County grandfather is looking for leads, after he was brutally beaten on his walk home.
It started out as a very ordinary day for Michael Patterson one Sunday in mid-April. First he attended church. Then he stopped at a car detailer, before beginning his 4-block walk home. Near the Burger King on Mission Avenue, he saw a man he had said "Hello" to before. The man in his late 20s - possibly homeless - was walking behind him.
"He ran up to try to keep up with me," said Patterson, 64.
Paterson says the man caught up to him, mumbling something in Spanish.
"Thought he was trying to get my attention and I said, 'Hi.' Once I turned around, that's when he hit me. Kicked my inside leg, then kicked my other leg with a steel-toed boot. That's when I fell and he kept punching me," said Patterson.
Patterson tried to shield his face, but the punches kept coming, about eight of them.
"I kept saying, 'Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus,'" said Patterson.
Eventually, they locked eyes.
"It was hate and anger with this," said Patterson.
The man ran off. Patterson suffering a broken nose, a battered face, a brain bleed and a thigh injury. Now Patterson is wondering if it was something he wore that fueled the attack. Patterson was wearing a patriotic hat, and a shirt that read, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13.'"
During his previous encounters with the man, Patterson says he was likely wearing similar shirts announcing his faith.
"Don't know if it was the shirt or what, but he was determined to get me for some reason," said Patterson.
Patterson says if he's not caught, someone else will get hurt.
"As far as I'm concerned it was the devil. Satan got into that man," said Patterson.
Burger King cameras did record the beating, but police would not release the video. A spokesperson says they're closing in on a suspect, and don't want to endanger the investigation.
A Gofundme campaign has been set up to help with expenses.
