Man under arrest for attacking monk at gas station

(Seattle Times) - A 33-year-old man suspected of punching a 72-year-old monk at a Burien gas station was arrested Saturday, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office.

The Russian Orthodox monk was pumping gas on the morning of April 16 when a man came up to him, made a statement about President Donald Trump and punched him in the face, said sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Ryan Abbott.

“He said, ‘how’s Trump?’ and I presume he meant President Trump and I said, ‘well I don’t know,’ ” the victim told KOMO-TV. “And all of a sudden he just sucker-punched me right here, and he did it with such force I did not see it coming.”

Detectives are still investigating the man’s motive for the unprovoked attack, Abbott said.

The suspect was arrested by the Seattle Police Department in connection with an unrelated attack, Abbott said. Seattle police recognized the suspect from a photo released by Burien Police Department.

On social media, the monk said he suffered some hearing loss and body pain as a result of the attack.

“I find myself filled with compassion and love for the poor tortured soul who was driven to commit such a heinous act,” he said in a Facebook post. “That a young man would sucker punch an obviously old man, and a stranger to him, is truly hard for me to comprehend. Even more, I am praying for my attacker.”