Man charged with attacking, critically injuring woman on Chicago's Magnificent Mile
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man has been charged with attacking a woman with a large log along the Magnificent Mile, leaving her in critical condition.
Bruce Diamond, 52, has been charged with one count of aggravated battery. Prosecutors said he hit a woman in the head with a 3-foot-long log Monday afternoon at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Ontario Street. The woman was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition, and prosecutors said she remained in the hospital on Wednesday with swelling on her brain.
The corner is often busy during the day, especially approaching the busy holiday season. As a result, a Chicago police officer is almost always stationed outside of the nearby Burbery store on Michigan Avenue.
The attack was so quick that the people collecting donations for the Salvation Army's red kettle program across the street said they didn't even notice what had happened.
One person who works on Michigan Avenue said he saw the whole thing and ran for help.
"When I looked up, I just seen him throw the stick. So when we tried to get to him to stop him, she was on the ground. So when I tried to make sure she was okay, and make sure she was great, she was bleeding," Joseph Cariden said.
During his first court appearance on Wednesday, Diamond was denied pretrial release.
Prosecutors said he has a lengthy criminal history, including 21 convictions in Ohio since 2011. He also has been arrested 19 times in Chicago since the 1980s, and has multiple criminal charges in Indiana.
Diamond is due back in court on Monday in Skokie.