Newark Public Safety Director Brian O'Hara said Tyjihad Ellison was arrested in the assault, which happened around 10 a.m. Friday on Ferry Street near Merchant Street.
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The horrific incident was caught on video, which showed the man purported to be Ellison skateboarding behind the victim.
The suspect then sucker punches the man in the side of the head, knocking him unconscious, before fleeing the scene.
Raw video:
Man on skateboard sucker punches senior citizen in NJ
Ellison suffers from mental illness, police said.
The victim was transported to University Hospital for treatment and has since returned home, but his daughter tells Eyewitness News that her parents -- who have lived in the Ironbound neighborhood for 30 years -- are now terrified to go outside.
"You know, in this area, we think it's safe, but it's not," she said. "They don't want to leave the house anymore. They're so scared."
The daughter, who did not want to be identified, said her parents walk the street all the time. Her father has no recollection of the brutal assault.
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"When he woke up, he just kept asking what happened to him," she said. "Because he doesn't remember anything what happened."
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Her father had just turned 73 the day before the attack, and all of his feelings about safety have been shattered.
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"I feel sick, very sick, very sad, and I don't know what do to, what to say," she said. "This was my father, but it could be somebody else. Could be somebody else, and we have to do something to stop this crime because we cannot live like this."
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