Family of a 7-year-old girl, who was playing in a park when a 73-year-old man approached her and pulled her head up before slashing her throat with a knife, files a multimillion-dollar lawsuit
Michigan – In a case that continues to shock and horrify Michigan residents more than a year later, the family of a 7-year-old girl who narrowly survived a brutal knife attack at a local playground is now seeking $50 million in damages from the man accused of trying to kill her. The civil lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the county circuit court, accuses G. Lansky of premeditating the October 2024 assault and paints a chilling picture of a man allegedly “daydreaming about slashing a child’s throat in front of the child’s parents and peers.”
The victim, Saida M., was playing at the playground with other children under her grandmother’s supervision when Lansky, then 73 years old, walked up, grabbed the young girl by the chin, pulled her head back, and slashed her throat with a pocketknife. The attack was swift and deliberate, the complaint states, alleging that Lansky then attempted to stab her in the stomach, but Saida managed to break free before the blade could reach her abdomen. “She scurried away from her attacker and driven completely by unthinking terror, sprinted the entire way to her home while holding her neck wound with her hands to avoid bleeding out,” the complaint recounts.
According to police and court records, Saida ran back to her home with blood gushing from her neck. Medics responded around 3:45 p.m. and rushed her to the hospital for emergency treatment. A neighbor, alerted by the girl’s screams, rendered first aid with gauze pads and later recalled how the terrified child said, “Oh, I’m going to die, and nobody is going to be here with me.”
Saida’s mother spoke during a press conference this week, describing the long-lasting emotional toll the attack has had on her daughter. “Mommy, somebody cut my throat,” Saida told her after arriving home that day. The victim’s mother said the entire family has since been traumatized. “We sleep in one bedroom now. Me and my three children. That’s how scared we are.” Now eight years old, Saida bravely spoke to reporters on Wednesday. “I feel scared and I don’t want to go to school anymore … [or] outside alone,” she said. “When I sleep, I feel like the guy is coming back for me.” She added, “When I grow up, I want to be a lawyer so I can let him stay in jail.”
Though Lansky’s wife initially told the press her husband suffered from mental illness, the court has since ruled that he is mentally competent to stand trial, meaning he is capable of understanding the charges and participating in his defense. He has been charged with assault with intent to murder and felonious assault. Despite the attack’s brutality, prosecutors have said they lacked sufficient evidence to pursue hate crime charges, though the family and their attorney strongly believe Saida’s Muslim background may have made her a target. The complaint emphasizes that Lansky allegedly drove intentionally to the park, chose a child at random, and executed a deeply violent act without provocation.
“You’d think this is some kind of scary Halloween movie. But for Saida and her family this is real life,” said the family’s attorney, N. Ayad. “Absolutely horrific. It is horrific. And for anyone to just blow this off as if it’s just another attempted murder is outrageous.” As Lansky awaits his criminal trial, the civil suit aims to hold him further accountable—not just for the physical wounds Saida suffered, but for the trauma that now shapes every moment of her young life.
