Police seek suspect in beating of elderly shopkeeper

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee police are seeking persons of interest and a suspect they say was involved in the beating of an elderly shopkeeper, and have released surveillance video from the incident.

Police say the incident occurred at a store in the 4200 block of N. Teutonia Avenue just after 10:30 p.m. on October 24th.

Police say the suspect attempted to shoplift, and the victim locked the door of the business. The suspect then returned the item to the shelf, and the victim unlocked the door.

Police say as the victim attempted to relock the door, the suspect returned and forced his way in, striking the 71-year-old shopkeeper.

"He just trying to defend himself and he just trying to lock the door, so that way he can safe inside but suddenly they are, he got hit. He got hit on his face, so his bone was cracked. He got a lot of pain. He can't eat right now. He's just drinking soup or something. He can't swallow and he can't eat anything," Teutonia Gas and Food Manager Harjinder Singh said.

The victim is a member of the Oak Creek Sikh community, and reportedly has health concerns.

Manager Harjinder Singh says the victim has been on dialysis for kidney failure and only worked at the store a few nights a week. Harjinder Singh says he hopes police find the suspect, who Singh says may not realize he actually hurt someone.

"That way he know what he did wrong -- otherwise he don't know what he did," Singh said.

The suspect was accompanied by several other subjects that may have information on the suspect’s identity.

There are still images of those persons of interest and the suspect in question at the end of the video above.

Police describe the suspect as a black man between the ages of 18 and 20. He was reportedly wearing a black T-shirt with white writing on it, with red basketball pants and black shoes.

Anyone with information is asked to call Milwaukee police at (414) 935-7360.