"Blindsided and ambushed" can only begin to explain what a 74-year-old man went through while routinely closing up shop Tuesday night.
The co-owner of Mary's Fabulous Chicken and Fish in Ann Arbor, Yung Kim and his wife have never been robbed in 32 years running the popular chicken restaurant. Now the owner is hospitalized after a brutal attack.
People in the area are not taking this news lightly, and neither is law enforcement. Police have been searching for whoever committed such a heinous crime, especially after video emerged of Kim walking into the neighboring party store with cuts and blood covering his face.
Although the party store owner has known the 74-year-old for years, when he walked in late Tuesday, he was almost unrecognizable.
"There was a crack on his head," said store owner, Constantine Chiparus. "I didn't recognize him, and I've been their neighbor for eight years."
Kim was ambushed in the back of the restaurant and beaten. His eyes are now swollen shut with bruises and he has more than a dozen stitches in his head. The attacker also took off with his wallet, which carried a little more than $100.
"When I closed the store it was around 10:30 p.m. I get out to my car and somebody hit me," said Kim while hospitalized.
Kim's wife is left to run the business, take customer orders and cook the food. However, some loyal customers weren't just there for the food; they also came to provide kind words of support.
"He's a great guy," said one customer. "Everybody in the community loves him. It's just crazy."
Thursday, Kim's son flew in from Seattle to take care of him now that he has been discharged from the hospital. Although he is still badly bruised with staples in his head, the 74-year-old is expected to make a full recovery.
As the community mourns Tuesday's attack, Kim's wife says she wants to permanently close the restaurant's doors and shut down business for good.