A homeless man in his 60s whose hand was severed in a sword attack on Saturday was described Tuesday by a downtown Riverside sandwich shop manager as being polite and helpful.
Police, meanwhile, were continuing to search for the person who attacked him.
The severed hand was found on a sidewalk at 5th Street and Fairmont Boulevard Saturday evening around 10:30 p.m., about the time the victim showed up at a hospital.
Riverside Police spokesman Ryan Railsback said the victim was sent into surgery and is expected to survive. He did not know Tuesday if doctors were able to reattach his hand or if the man remained in the hospital.
Michelle Lopez, a 24-year-old Riverside resident and general manager at Cheba Hut in Downtown Riverside, launched a GoFundMe to help support the victim, who is known locally as Jeffrey. She described him as sweet, helpful, and polite and said he came into the shop regularly and helped with tasks in exchange for food.
Lopez said she learned about the assault after a photo circulating on Instagram showed the severed hand on a sidewalk next to a shopping cart that Jeffrey was regularly seen with.
“We just want him to be okay once he’s released,” said Lopez, who pitched the fundraiser idea to her coworkers and circulated it on social media.
Police believe the attacker is also homeless and may have had an ongoing dispute with Jeffrey. They have not released a name or any information about the person.
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