DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — A Dearborn Heights man is facing serious charges after allegedly attacking a neighbor who confronted him about driving recklessly through their residential neighborhood.
Watch Randy Wimbley's video report:
Hassan Kamal has been charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm and assault with a dangerous weapon following the Thursday night incident near Lehigh and Bailey streets.
The victim, who reportedly required more than 20 stitches after the attack, had confronted Kamal about his driving in an area where families and children frequently walk.
"Twenty-something stitches and, if you look at it, it's parallel with a slash to his throat like he went to block it and it's perfectly in line with his throat," said Jerrad Eskinazi, a neighbor who described the severity of the attack.
According to police, the incident began as a domestic dispute. Kamal was reportedly driving erratically through the neighborhood searching for his wife and children, who had left their home earlier that evening.
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"This guy in the neighborhood, what he's saying is, 'hey, watch out how you're driving. We have women and children walking on the street.' Which so happened to be the gentleman's wife and kids," Detective Ahmad Mazloum said. "It started from a family trouble. It stemmed from a highly emotional incident where there was a husband/wife dispute of some sort."
Police said Kamal eventually found his family on Bailey Street, which is when a neighbor approached him about his driving behavior.
"Some kind of physical altercation ensued after that, and that's when a sharp object was brought to the scene, and basically the guy got cut," Malzoum said.
Neighbors say this wasn't the first time Kamal had driven recklessly in the area.
"Two days prior to that, we had an altercation with him doing it over here," Eskinazi said.
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Residents in the neighborhood expressed ongoing concerns about dangerous driving in their community.
"I'd say every couple of days I see somebody speeding down the street, blowing through stop signs, stuff like that," Jack Nakoula said.
"Between those four houses and these four houses, there's 20 kids right here between these two corners," Eskinazi said.
If convicted, Kamal could face up to 14 years in prison. He was released on a $20,000 personal bond with conditions including no contact with the victim and wearing a GPS tether.
