‘Why did you come to this country:’ Report of attack at Beaufort Co. hotel

A Georgia man was attacked at the Candlewood Suites hotel in Bluffton by a man asking him questions such as “why did you come to this country” and “what religion are you,” and calling him a “terrorist”, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report.

The victim was approached on the second floor of the hotel by a white man on Jan. 17 around 12:43 a.m., according to the report.

The victim “politely declined” to answer his questions, the report said.

When the victim declined to engage, the man began to shout at him and followed him to the lobby of the hotel, where the suspect began throwing hotel toiletries at him, according to the report.

The suspect grabbed the man by the arm and tried to pull him toward a stairwell when three men who were standing in the lobby broke up the attack, the report said.

The victim’s race was listed as “unknown” in the Sheriff’s Office report.

One of the men who helped break up the attack told Sheriff’s Office deputies he struck the suspect several times as he was trying to pull the victim toward the stairwell, according to the report.

The victim declined medical treatment and is not pressing charges against the suspect, but he told deputies he wants the suspect placed on “trespass notice” for the Candlewood Suites hotel, the report said.

The suspect was taken to Coastal Carolina Hospital where he was treated for injuries to his left ear. The report said there was “substantial” blood flow coming from the suspect’s ear, and he told deputies he was “beaten up by a terrorist” at the Candlewood Suites hotel.

The suspect was served a trespass notice barring him from returning to the hotel, the report said.

This story was originally published January 19, 2019 at 5:24 PM.