Roommate of man arrested in suspected acid attack says he told him, 'I'm in trouble'

MILWAUKEE -- Surveillance cameras captured the moment a man threw suspected battery acid on another man's face near 13th Street and Cleveland Avenue in Milwaukee Friday night, Nov. 1. The incident prompted city leaders to speak out after claims the crime was racially motivated.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett on Monday, Nov. 4 held a news conference in response to the attack.

Police said a Milwaukee man, 61, was arrested on Saturday, Nov. 2 near 13th Street and Edgerton Avenue for the attack on Mahud, 42. According to police, the suspected acid attack followed a verbal altercation. The victim, who suffered second-degree burns, said the argument was over a parking spot.

"It was horrifying to see the actions that he took in response to a verbal altercation," said Mayor Barrett. "This is not what happens in a just society."

Mahud described the attack on Saturday after he emerged from the hospital.

"He started talking," said Mahud. "'You don't respect my laws. You came to my country. You came here illegally.'"

Things soon escalated.

"He approached me with those hate words," said Mahud. "'Go back to your country. You don't belong here. This is my country.' He had a little bag he carried on the side," said Mahud. "Then, he pulled out a little bottle, and then I got concerned. I was ready to go to the restaurant, and I saw he did like this, and my reaction was just doing like this, and he threw me the acid."

"The victim is a United States citizen," said Mayor Barrett. "He is an immigrant, but he is a citizen. He has as much right to be here as any one of us."

Mohammad Ishtiwi, the roommate of the man sources told FOX6 News was the person who was arrested in this case, said he's witnessed biogtry.

"You can tell he's a prejudiced person," said Ishtiwi. "Recently, the last couple of years, he changed."

Ishtiwi described the 61-year-old man as antisocial and short-tempered but said he never imagined his roommate would be accused of something so terrible.

"Saturday night when I walked in and everything was turned off in the house, I turned the light on and he said, 'I'm in trouble. They are coming for me,'" said Ishtiwi. "By the time he said that, police were knocking on the door."

Police said Monday the "corrosive liquid" used in the attack was being tested, and charges would be referred to the district attorney.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe.com account was set up for Mahud.

Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee) released the following statement on the suspected acid attack: 

Senator Tim Carpenter, (D-Milwaukee) issued this statement:

Officials with LULAC, the League of United Latin American Citizens, called on Milwaukee police and the district attorney "to charge this case as a hate crime," releasing this statement: