Detroit man, 73, slashed child's throat in park while horrified kids played, police say

Detroit man, 73, slashed child's throat in park while horrified kids played, police say

A 73-year-old Detroit man is behind bars for allegedly attacking a 7-year-old girl with a knife in a city park full of children, slashing her throat in an incident that ended with the child racing home to her mother for help, and the suspect in handcuffs.

"He just like came out of nowhere and just like (pulled) the knife on me," the girl told Fox 2 News as she sat on a porch step this week with gauze around her neck, explaining how a day at the park with her grandmother turned into a day of horror.

"When he came toward my grandma, I ran home," the girl told Fox 2. "And then my grandma was screaming, 'What! What! What!' ... Everybody was saying like 'Knife, knife, knife' — but she didn't understand. So I told her in Arabic so she can know."

While the victim is of Arab descent, Maria Miller, spokesperson for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, said: "At this time, we have no evidence that supports that this was a hate crime."

Court documents also show the suspect, Gary Lansky, of Detroit, is facing domestic violence and assault with a dangerous weapon charges stemming from an Oct. 3 incident. The man's wife, Linda Lansky, told the Free Press on Friday morning that her husband suffers from mental health issues, but she declined to discuss anything further.

According to Detroit police, the slashing incident happened sometime before 3:45 p.m. Tuesday at a park in the 5800 block of Greenview Avenue in Detroit. They said Lansky approached the girl and cut her throat with a knife before fleeing the scene.

Detroit police were dispatched about 3:45 p.m. to a home on Stahelin Avenue for a report of a stabbing. They found the girl with a cut to her throat being treated by medics.

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Lansky was arrested that same day.

On Thursday, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced that Lansky was charged with assault with intent to murder and felonious assault. He appeared in 36th District Court and was jailed. An attorney of record for Lansky is not listed in court documents.

"When we went out to the park, the children there were just horrified. They were traumatized," Detroit Police Commander Vernal Newson said in a Fox 2 interview. "We figured that he perhaps had some type of breakdown, or was experiencing a mental crisis."

Linda Lansky took to Facebook to ask friends for support about her husband's situation, writing: "Many heartful prayers needed for Gary now!" read one post at 10:33 p.m. Thursday.

As friends responded with messages of support and "heartful prayers" — his wife wrote:

"Thanks so much. Did you see it on the news. He is very mentally unstable, sick."

Linda Lansky's Facebook page also mentions an incident in the spring, when her husband allegedly went missing.

On April 16, her page reads: "Gary has been found He is safe!!! Thanks everyone so very much for your prayers. The power of prayer is amazing."

Two days earlier, she had written this: "I have never done this, but without explaining right now I need heartfelt prayers for Gary. please, please may he be safe!"