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Video of nursing home attack from USA, not South Africa

“The HATRED towards WHITE PEOPLE. Did you see what’s happening in South Africa?” That’s the caption of a video posted on Facebook on 23 May 2020. 

The video shows a young black man attacking an elderly white man, repeatedly punching him on the back, head and face. The young man mumbles but can be heard saying, repeatedly: “See this bitch ass nigga, he’s fucking up my bed.” The older man’s bleeding face is briefly shown on camera.

The video has been viewed more than 116,000 times in just five days. Does it show an attack in South Africa motivated by “hatred towards white people”?



Incident took place in Detroit, USA


A clue to the video’s origins is that the young man is speaking with a US accent

A Google search reveals that the attack happened in a nursing home in Detroit, a city in the US state of Michigan.

According to a report by the Washington Examiner published on 28 May, local police arrested a 20-year-old suspect after the video went viral. The suspect reportedly works in the nursing home where the incident took place. The victim is a patient. 

The video was reportedly filmed on 15 May. It went viral on social media, drawing the attention of US president Donald Trump, who tweeted on 22 May: “Is this even possible to believe? Can this be for real? Where is this nursing home, how is the victim doing?”

A CNN report identified the accused as Jaden T Hayden. He has reportedly been charged with two counts of assault with intent to do great bodily harm, larceny in a building and two counts of stealing or retaining a financial transaction without consent. 

It is currently unclear what motivated the attack. 

A video shows an attack on an elderly man in a nursing home in the US. It did not take place in South Africa, and the motive for the attack is not known. – Naledi Mashishi




 

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