Two elderly pro-life advocates were viciously assaulted outside of a Baltimore Planned Parenthood clinic on Friday, several witnesses confirmed to Baltimore police.
Jay Walton, the head of Baltimore County Right to Life, said Tuesday morning that 73-year-old Mark Crosby and 80-year-old Dick Schaefer were “viciously attacked” while they were praying in front of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Baltimore.
“It is important to note that the two victims were not robbed,” Walton said in a statement. “This was a vicious attack on two men because they are pro-life. This should be treated as a hate crime and denounced by Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D), as well as Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D). Their silence on this attack will continue to put pro-lifers in danger throughout the state of Maryland.”
LifeSiteNews first reported the assaults. The outlet spoke with pro-life activist John Roswell, who said that the assailant asked a Planned Parenthood escort to hold his drink, then lunged at Schaefer, who believes his back was turned at that time to the assailant.
“Mark, who was in the street, tried to go to Dick’s aid and was hit in the face, knocking him on the ground, and the man then kicked him in the head,” Roswell told LifeSiteNews.
The Baltimore Planned Parenthood did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to a police officer’s narrative of the situation provided to The Daily Signal by the Baltimore Police Department, Crosby told police that he went to Schaefer’s aide after an “unidentified” white male attacked Schaefer, after which the unidentified man attacked Crosby. (Crosby’s and Schaefer’s names are redacted in the police narrative.)
He “could not remember many details immediately after being attacked,” but the officer noted that Schaefer, the second victim, “was outside the Planned Parenthood, being attended to by nurses from a local business.”
Schaefer told the officer that “the suspect had approached volunteer members of the Planned Parenthood clinic and spoke with them before directing his attention to him,” then “spoke with him in an aggressive manner, opposing Mr. Schaefer’s pro-life ideals, and without warning, tackled him into a large flowerpot.”
“Mr. Schaefer advised that the suspect then went after Mr. Crosby before walking away.”
A number of people were present at the time and witnessed the incident, the officer said. According to one of them, the conversation that took place between Schaefer and the suspect was about abortion, “their ideas about pro-life and pro-choice viewpoints.”
A security officer reportedly showed the Baltimore police officer camera footage showing the suspect, a white male with brown hair and a full beard, wearing a gray T-shirt, blue jeans, and brown shoes, “cross N. Howard St. on W. Mulberry St. and continue beyond the building down W. Mulberry St.”
The suspect then walks up to the group in front of Planned Parenthood and then has a “visibly aggressive conversation” with Schaefer.
“The suspect is then observed about to turn away, but rushes at Mr. Schaefer and tackles him over a large flowerpot,” the police narrative continues. “The video then shows Mr. Crosby running over to assist, and the suspect turns and shoves him down with both hands. The video continues and shows the suspect strike Mr. Crosby in the face with a closed fist as Mr. Crosby is on his back on the ground. The suspect is then observed standing up and, with extreme force, kicks Mr. Crosby directly in the face.”
After that, the suspect walked away down West Mulberry Street, the police officer’s narrative said, noting that the camera footage would be obtained upon the return of the head of security to work.
Photographs of Crosby show him dressed in a bloody T-shirt that says “pro-life.” His face is dramatically disfigured, with one eye swollen shut, and blood dripping from his eye socket, forehead, and nose. Crosby’s injuries were so severe that he had to go to the University of Maryland shock trauma facility, Walton told The Daily Signal. According to the police report, a doctor diagnosed Crosby with a large hematoma, hyphemia, and head and neck pain.
Roswell told LifeSiteNews that Crosby’s “plate bone in his upper-right cheek is completely fractured.” Crosby was also said to be “bleeding from some unidentified area behind his eye and the bone eye orbit is completely shattered and will have to be replaced with metal.”
A GoFundMe link for Crosby has raised almost $4,000 since Saturday.
“One of our volunteers, Mark Crosby, was brutally beaten on May 26, 2023, while he was praying in front of the Planned Parenthood in Baltimore City,” the GoFundMe says. “Mark is currently in the hospital being treated for the serious injuries he sustained. Please make a donation to help Mark recover financially from this terrible experience.”
“For years, Mark has prayed in front of the Planned Parenthood in Baltimore City to let the scared, young abortion-minded women know that they are loved, that their baby is loved,” the description continues. “Please donate to show Mark how much HE is loved. Your donation will go to Mark to help him pay for medical expenses.”
This article has been updated since publication. It’s a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.
