76-year-old retiree with Parkinson's fights off attacker while jogging in Chicago
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rokas Ablacinskas, 21, is charged with aggravated battery and attempted first-degree murder for allegedly attacking 71-year-old Michael Masterson in Chicago. (Chicago Police Department)
A 76-year-old man with Parkinson’s disease fought off an attacker who jumped him while he was jogging in a Chicago park early Saturday, officials said.
Michael Masterson, a retired bartender and former marathon runner who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease about two years ago, told the Chicago Tribune he was on his usual 5 a.m. run on the Lakefront Trail in the neighborhood of Lincoln Park when he was attacked.
“I’m just in a state of shock. What are you supposed to do in that situation?” he told the newspaper on Sunday. “Who expects to be attacked at 5 o’clock in the morning? And this guy said he wanted to kill me!”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The alleged attacker, later identified by police as 21-year-old Rokas Ablacinskas, was reportedly walking toward Masterson in the opposite direction when he began sprinting toward the former runner.
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Cook County prosecutors said Ablacinskas grabbed Masterson by the neck and squeezed it as they both toppled to the ground. As they rolled around, he scratched the older man in the face and head before shoving a finger in his eye and biting his right ear.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Masterson was able to fight Ablacinskas off and escape. But Ablacinskas was able to catch up to Masterson and again tackled him to the ground, choking him for a second time, prosecutors said during a bail hearing on Sunday, the Tribune reported.
The two men fought for another five minutes or so before Masterson was able to escape a second time.
“I guess I was in better shape that he was,” Masterson told the Tribune.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Police arrested Ablacinskas, who was asleep, near the same area in which he allegedly attacked Masterson. He was charged with aggravated battery and attempted first-degree murder.
He was held without bail. Prosecutors said a motive behind the attack is unclear.
Masterson told the newspaper that he plans to return to running after getting checked by his physicians later this week. He said the attack left his face swollen and bruised.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“This comes right out of the ‘Twilight Zone,’” he told the Tribune. “I’ve never seen this guy in my life. It was the most trying experience.”