Police in California have arrested a man accused of slapping a 10-year-old kid with autism in a viral video that has prompted outrage on social media.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office charged Scott Sakajian with willful cruelty to a child and violence against a person. The event occurred on July 3 along Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Osborne Street in the Pacoima district of Los Angeles. Alfredo Morales, 10, and his older sister were crossing the street when Alfredo paused to touch and bend the symbol on a stopped Mercedes-Benz before walking away.
According to local CW station KTLA, the motorist, eventually identified as Sakajian, turned around and followed Alfredo and his sister to a bus stop. He stopped over and got out of the car. Alfredo’s sister is seen and heard on film apologizing and explaining in Spanish that her brother has autism and did not mean any harm — but Sakajian seemed to be having none of it. That’s when the video purportedly shows Sakajian slapping Alfredo.
“I was traumatized, and I was shaking,” the woman who captured the footage told the site. “I said, ‘Hey, mister! Stop! “You cannot be doing that.”
A few days after the event, people identified Sakajian as the driver, causing some residents to go up to his house to confront him, KTLA reports. According to the outlet, police were called to the property after receiving threats.
When visitors found out the family was homeless and living in a broken-down truck in a park, they showed even more solidarity. The family raised approximately $100,000 through a GoFundMe campaign.
“Alfredo was the victim of an adult man slapping him at the bus stop,” the campaign states. “He has severe autism and his family is in desperate need of help.”
Community members also conducted a second fundraising for the family. The donations enabled the family to move into temporary lodgings.
Sakajian has a court date planned for August 2.