11-2-2018
LAKEWOOD, Wash. (AP) — A man who was attacked with a coffee mug at a Lakewood senior living facility has died.
Investigators say a 54-year-old resident with a history of mental illness struck a 57-year-old fellow resident with the coffee mug Saturday night after they argued about a beverage.
The man who was hit had a preexisting brain condition.
He was knocked unconscious and died Wednesday after undergoing surgery for bleeding in his brain.
The News Tribune reports the attacker was committed to Western State Hospital three times between 2005 and 2016, before being sent to live in the Lakewood senior living facility.
Lakewood City Manager John Caulfield and State Senator Steve O’Ban say that this death was preventable, and criticized DSHS for their lack of transparency about the attacker’s history.