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Teen accused of tearing out 74-year-old relative’s eyes with bare hands

Posted at 9:03 PM, Aug 01, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-01 21:03:06-04

ROCHESTER, Minn. – A Minnesota teen is accused of using his bare hands to rip out a 74-year-old relative’s eyes during a vicious attack Friday.

Rochester police arrested 18-year-old Mahad Aziz after officers found him standing over the bloody victim, who was also missing most of his teeth, according to KTTC.  Police walked into the grisly scene at the Rochester Square Apartments after getting a call about a noise complaint.

“You just don’t know until you get on scene. And for our officers, they are trained to expect the unexpected,” Captain of Investigations of Rochester Police Department John Sherwin told KTTC. ” In this case they certainly encountered a scene that you often don’t see.”

Police say Aziz, who was handcuffed at the scene, likely didn’t use a weapon to pull out the older man’s eyes, according to the Post Bulletin.  Officers weren’t able to find the eyeballs.

Aziz refused to speak to the arresting officers; it’s still not clear what preceded the attack. Police didn’t say how the 18-year-old and the victim are related. The 74-year-old was rushed to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the paper.

“It’s a permanent injury that’s disabling. A permanent loss of a bodily function. And obviously that applies in this case,” Sherwin said. “You lose your eyes, it’s not … there’s no replacement.”

Aziz, who is being held at the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center, is now awaiting arraignment on a felony assault charge.