Man, 72, punched in the face in 'knockout game' says is not angry at his attackers
The man recalled seeing the teenager in front of him prior to the attack
He waited before punching the 72-year-old man to the ground on Monday evening
Victim was left with cuts and bruises on his face
Target? Donald Lathrom, 72, was punched in the head in an apparent random assault in the West Village./ He remains in the hospital with a large blood clot in his head and severe bruising to the face
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A 72-year-old man who was punched in the head in what was a random attack in the West Village says he is not angry at his attackers.
Donald Lathrom remains in the hospital with a large blood clot in his head and with bruises on his face.
He said that he was returning home from a day in the park and was looking forward to relaxing in his apartment when the brutal assault occurred.
The sickening attack was caught on surveillance video and shows a stunned Lathrom tumbling into a doorway and hitting the sidewalk. The suspect then bolts across the street, where his friend was waiting.
Police are looking for two men who they said attacked a 72-year-old man as he walked home from the deli in the West Village
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Surveillance footage shows the attacker running across the street after he knocked the man to the ground.
After the punch, a doorman at a nearby building rushed out and called 911.
Mr Lathrom was taken to an area hospital with cuts and head pain, and doctors are monitoring the large blood clot in his head.
The heartless, brazen attack has left his neighbors badly shaken.
'Very generous, good-hearted, sweet guy. I don't know why somebody would do that to him,' said the victim's friend and neighbor for nearly 20 years, Melvin Smith.
'It's devastating because it's someone that I really love. It really hurts.,' he told ABC News.
The victim is a retired taxi driver who now spends some of his time as a dog walker
Wanted: Police are looking for two teens who were involved in the attack that were seen in the neighborhood
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Incredibly, he is not annoyed at his assailants and says he believes the suspects were 'playing a game' in which one was egging the other one on.
'I don't think it happened 'to me.' I think it happened to this guy walking down the street, who could have been anyone. It was not personal.'
However, he does want the attackers caught so that nobody else is subjected to their abuse.
Mr Lathrom told police that he had seen the suspects, believed to be in their early 20s, after leaving the deli at West 12th Street and Eighth Avenue a few minutes before the assault — leading investigators to believe the men intentionally targeted him.
Man, 72, punched in the face in 'knockout game' says is not angry at his attackers
The man recalled seeing the teenager in front of him prior to the attack
He waited before punching the 72-year-old man to the ground on Monday evening
Victim was left with cuts and bruises on his face
Target? Donald Lathrom, 72, was punched in the head in an apparent random assault in the West Village./ He remains in the hospital with a large blood clot in his head and severe bruising to the face
Police are looking for two men who they said attacked a 72-year-old man as he walked home from the deli in the West Village
Wanted: Police are looking for two teens who were involved in the attack that were seen in the neighborhood
