A teenager has been arrested after a World War Two veteran nicknamed ‘Shorty’ who served in the Battle of Okinawa was brutally beaten by two men and left to die outside his regular bar in Spokane, Washington, on Wednesday.
Delbert Belton, 88, who was shot in the leg during the pivotal battle of the Pacific campaign, passed away from serious head injuries on Thursday at Sacred Heart Medical Center in the city.
Police told his daughter-in-law, Bobby, that he was beaten with heavy flashlights in the assault which left him bleeding ‘from every part of his face’.
Witnesses to the attack said that Belton, who was going to play pool, was outside the Eagles Lodge at around 8pm when two male suspects set upon him.
A friend said the veteran had just pulled up and was waiting for a female friend so she didn’t have to walk in alone.
This morning Spokane Police Department announced one suspect had been arrested.
He was described as a juvenile but no other details were released.
‘It does appear random. He was in the parking lot, it appears he was assaulted in the parking lot and there was no indication that he would have known these people prior to the assault,’ Spokane Police Major Crimes Detective Lieutenant Mark Griffiths said.
On Thursday evening, police released surveillance photos of the two suspects, who they described as African-American males between the ages of 16 and 19.
Delbert ‘Shorty’ Belton was taken to the Intensive Care Unit of Sacred Heart after the assault at the Eagles Ice-A-Rena near Lidgerwood, but succumbed to his wounds.