Part Of Man's Ear Bitten Off By Stranger In Loop Attack

CHICAGO, IL — A 51-year-old man was punched in the head and part of his ear was bitten off in an attack in the Loop Thursday morning, according to police. The attack happened in front of the School of the Art Institute around 6:45 a.m., police said. The man was standing on the sidewalk in the 100 block of South Michigan Avenue, when a man he didn't know walked up to him and asked if he had a lighter.

When the victim said he didn't have one, the suspect punched him in the back of the head and bit off part of his left ear, according to police. The suspect then ran south on Michigan, police said.

The victim was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition stabilized.

The suspect is described as a 5-foot-8 black man in his 50s who weighs around 140 pounds, police said. He has salt-and-pepper hair and was wearing a big brown coat, a brown shirt and brown pants, according to police.

Area Central detectives were investigating. No one was in custody.

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