Enraged man doing drugs kills grandfather during one-year-old's birthday party at Michigan park

A grandfather was stabbed to death during his one-year-old granddaughter’s birthday party after he told a man to stop doing drugs on a park bench in Utica, Michigan, about 28 miles north of Detroit.

What happened?

The child, other relatives, and witnesses watched in horror as an enraged man brandishing a large knife repeatedly stabbed him, a woman who lives near Grant Park told the Macomb Daily newspaper.

"[The victim] fell to the ground, he had blood all over him," said witness Amanda Pasho.

"He had his arms up to fend off the man from stabbing him,” she said. “The man put his knee in the guy's abdomen to hold him down and then put his arm across his face and began stabbing him with a knife, like non-stop, just jabbing at him with the knife."

The knife appeared to be a machete about 8-to-10 inches in length, she said.

The victim, who witnesses said appeared to be in his 50s, died at the scene.

Neighbors called 911 after hearing the grandfather and other family members screaming. The suspect was still at the scene when officers from Utica and Shelby Township arrived, and he was taken into custody at gunpoint by a Shelby Township police officer, the report states.

Police did not release additional details on the homicide, which took place Saturday afternoon.

What was the attacker taking?

Nearby residents told the newspaper it appeared the attacker was sniffing nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, while he was sitting on the bench. The gas can cause hallucinations.

The grandfather walked over to the suspect and asked him to remove the drugs from the area because children were in the park for the birthday party. The two got into a scuffle, and the suspect overpowered him, witnesses said.

"He was enraged, he seemed like he had the strength of the Tasmanian devil," Pasho said. "My heart goes out to the family of that poor man. I can't believe this happened in front of them."

Saturday marked the fifth homicide in Macomb County this week, the report stated.

Police are continuing to investigate, WKBJ-TV reported.