Residents of Pacoima rallied together to support the family of a young boy with autism after he was slapped in the face by a grown man in a disturbing on-camera assault.
Alfredo Morales and his family were crossing the street in Pacoima on Monday near the intersection of Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Osborne Street when the child touched the logo of a Mercedes Benz that was stopped while waiting for the traffic light to change. Video captured that moments later, the driver of that vehicle furiously approached Morales and slapped him across the face.
“No child in the world deserves to be beaten,” the boy’s mother, Claudia Acevedo, told NBC4’s sister station Telemundo 52.
In wake of the assault, an online fundraiser was created for the family and it has since reached $50,000 in donations. Those funds will help the family, who have been experiencing homelessness recently.
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Morales and his family live in a broken-down van in Sheldon Arleta Park. With the generosity of the public, however, they’ll be able to secure more stable housing.
“Thank you so much for everything you do for my family. I appreciate it,” said Miguel Alfredo Morales, the boy’s father.
In addition to the online fundraiser, good Samaritans donated food, clothes and toys to the family at the site of their van.
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An investigation is ongoing in regards to the assault. Although the Los Angeles Police Department did not publicly identify the assailant, it said he is cooperating with authorities.
