Mother seeks answers after daughter, 7, stabbed in Detroit park

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) — The mother of a seven-year-old girl who was viciously stabbed in the neck by a 73-year-old man wants to know why the assailant chose to attack her daughter at a park in northwestern Detroit in broad daylight.

"Why did he aim for her? Why come out of nowhere? Why?" Amirah Sharhan, 32, asked during an interview with the Detroit Free Press newspaper. "I don't want my daughter's case to be pushed to the side, at all."

The daily reported that Wayne County prosecutors have yet to uncover any information to support hate crime charges, but the Michigan chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations advocacy group called for authorities to "conduct a thorough investigation" into the suspect's motives.

Authorities have identified the suspect in Saida Mashra's Tuesday stabbing as Gary Lansky. He has so far been charged with assault with intent to murder and felonious assault.

"Regardless of the motive, this attack was a senseless act of violence that will impact the lives of Saida, her family, and all of the other children who were in the park that day," CAIR Michigan Executive Director Dawud Walid said in a statement.

"While the charges faced by Garly Lansky are serious, we urge the Detroit Police Department and the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office to conduct a comprehensive investigation into this matter to determine whether hate was a motivating factor in the attack," he added.

Police and Lansky's wife have said that he may be suffering from mental illness, according to the Free Press.