A family is reeling after their beloved 19-year-old son died days after he was randomly attacked last month in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles.
The July 18 incident occurred near 7th Street and Serrano Avenue.
According to reporting from The Korea Daily, the victim, Joonhee Han, briefly made eye contact with his attacker as the man passed him on an electric scooter.
Han, who was wearing headphones, never saw the suspect turn around, approach from behind and throw him to the ground where he reportedly hit his head and face, and then endured a beating by the man while he was on the ground.
“I got jumped on the street. It did not hurt that much, it’s not that uncomfortable,” the 19-year-old told his father, Chris Han, who recalled the last conversation he had with his son. “I asked him, ‘Why not fight back?’ He said [it was] too dangerous, bigger than him.”
Days later, on July 23 at around 2 a.m., The Korea Daily reports that Joonhe was with friends when he suddenly went pale, vomited, lost vision in one eye and collapsed as his breathing became irregular.
“He was walking down the street, he got dizzy. His heart stopped,” his father explained to KTLA.
Joonhee was in a coma for five days and, sadly, died before ever reporting the attack.
“The coroner’s office, after conducting an autopsy following the organ donation surgery, determined that Han’s death was due to brain damage caused by a blood clot resulting from the assault, rather than a naturally occurring stroke,” The Korea Daily reported.
Homicide detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department told KTLA that they are now searching for witnesses and possible security video of the unprovoked assault.
A spokesperson for the L.A. County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed to The Korea Daily that the autopsy performed on Joonhee was in concert with LAPD’s investigation, but did not disclose the 19-year-old’s exact cause of death.
A GoFundMe has been organized for the family, who described Joonhee as “vibrant and kindhearted.”