DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. — A young boy was walking home from a neighbor's home where he'd been swimming. The next moment, somebody reportedly picked him up and threw him on his head – causing a brain injury.
It happened on July 18 in Desert Hot Springs, a small city in Riverside County, California. According to police, the child was rushed to Desert Regional Medical Center and then airlifted to Loma Linda Medical Center.
The Desert Sun reports 7-year-old Gavin Ludwick is finally sitting up by himself and opening one of his eyes at the hospital, where he's been in intensive care. He and the accused attacker live in the same neighborhood, but investigators say they don't know each other.
The seemingly "random attack" was reportedly caught on a neighbor's security camera, The Sun said. Police later found Gavin lying unconscious in the road.
According to NBC Los Angeles, prosecutors allege the attack caused the 7-year-old to "become comatose due to brain injury or to suffer paralysis of a permanent nature.''
Daniel Poulsen, 32, was charged Wednesday with attempted murder and willful child cruelty. On Thursday, a judge ordered him to undergo a psychological evaluation to see if he's mentally fit for trial.
Bail was set at $1 million. He's scheduled to be back in court on Sept. 17 for a hearing with a doctor.
According to The Desert Sun, Poulsen has been arrested in Riverside County 15 times before and been found mentally incompetent for trial at least 11 times in his life.
A GoFundMe page set up for Gavin's medical expenses said his mother lost her husband to cancer within the last year and is now raising her two kids alone.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Detective Tooth at 760-329-2904 Ext: 352.
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What other people are reading right now:
- Body of missing 5-year-old found in Highlands County lake
- Universal Orlando cancels Holloween Horror Nights
- Opening Day tweet from the Rays calls for the arrests of Breonna Taylor's killers
- Longtime Rep. Buchanan staffer dies from COVID-19
- Florida passes 400,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19
- Hillsborough County Schools reopening delayed by 2 weeks to Aug. 24
- Trump cancels Jacksonville segment of Republican National Convention
- Here are the reopening plans for Tampa Bay school districts
FREE 10 TAMPA BAY APP:
►Stay In the Know! Sign up now for the Brightside Blend Newsletter
