Dearborn, MI – The family of a 7-year-old girl whose throat was allegedly slashed in a playground attack by a 73-year-old man has filed a $50 million lawsuit, accusing the suspect of acting out a violent fantasy of killing a child in public. The lawsuit comes more than a year after the horrific assault that left Saida Mashrah traumatized and scarred for life.
The Incident: Daytime Attack at a Dearborn Playground
According to a 10-page complaint filed Wednesday in Wayne County Circuit Court, Gary Lansky, 73, allegedly approached Saida Mashrah at Lloyd H. Ryan Playground in Dearborn on October 8, 2024, and cut her throat open with a pocketknife while she played with other children.
The filing alleges that Lansky “daydreamed about slashing a child’s throat in front of the child’s parents and peers” and drove from his home in Detroit specifically to carry out his fantasy.
“He grabbed her by the chin, yanked back her head, and with the other hand manifested his sadistic fantasy,” the complaint reads. “He dragged his knife across Saida’s delicate neck, opening it. Blood gushed out from Saida’s throat.”…