A retired teacher was surrounded by six men outside a paint store on La Brea Avenue in Hollywood, beaten to the ground and robbed in broad daylight, leaving him with a brain bleed and multiple injuries. Fouad Mahassine had been drinking coffee at a nearby strip mall when the group closed in around him and one of the men demanded cash.
Attack Escalated After Mahassine Said He Had No Money
According to NBC Los Angeles, Mahassine told the men he did not have any money, and one of the attackers responded by hitting him in the head. Once he fell to the ground, the group continued to attack him, kicking him repeatedly as he lay on the pavement, the station reports.
The assailants made off with Mahassine's wallet, his phone, and his hearing aid, which cost $400, per the same account. A man in a nearby parked car saw the attack and called police, and Mahassine was rushed to an emergency room, where he was found to have suffered a brain bleed along with multiple other injuries.
Family Left Shaken, Searching for Answers
Mahassine's son, Zachary Mahassine, told the station the assault left the family shaken, and that in its immediate aftermath he did not know whether his father was conscious or where he had been taken. Police are searching for the attackers, though NBC Los Angeles notes that a detailed description of the suspects was not immediately available.
What the Attackers Could Face Under California Law
Even though a hearing aid worth $400 would typically fall under California's Proposition 47 threshold for low-level theft, the use of physical force during the robbery changes the legal picture entirely. Under California Penal Code Section 211, taking personal property through force or fear is second-degree felony robbery carrying two, three, or five years in state prison, regardless of the value of what was stolen, since the $950 threshold applies only to nonviolent property theft.
Mahassine's injuries could also expose his attackers to additional prison enhancements. Under California Penal Code Section 12022.7, personally inflicting great bodily injury — defined as significant or substantial physical injury — during a felony adds three to six more years of consecutive prison time on top of the underlying robbery sentence.
If prosecutors determine Mahassine's age makes him eligible for elder abuse provisions, the consequences could grow steeper still. California Penal Code Section 368 treats physical abuse of a victim 65 or older under circumstances likely to cause great bodily harm as a wobbler offense carrying two to four years in state prison if charged as a felony, and Section 368(b)(2) provides a three-year enhancement if the victim is under 70 and a five-year enhancement if the victim is 70 or older.
Part of a Pattern Along the Hollywood Corridor
The attack falls within the jurisdiction of the LAPD's Hollywood Community Police Station, which patrols a 17.2-square-mile area spanning Hollywood, the Hollywood Hills, and commercial strips including La Brea Avenue. It is among robberies reported in the area: in September, an 18-year-old woman was tackled and robbed of her jewelry around 2 a.m. inside a 7-Eleven near Santa Monica Boulevard and Las Palmas Avenue, and a customer outside a West Hollywood retailer near Santa Monica Boulevard had his iPhone 17 Plus snatched before deputies recovered it nearby.
Near West Hollywood, three masked suspects attacked a man in broad daylight outside a commercial shop, with shots fired as the group fled. LAPD's 2025 Annual Crime Data Report showed citywide homicides falling 19% compared to 2024 — the lowest annual total recorded in Los Angeles since 1966.
Police are searching for the attackers and have not released a detailed description of the six men. His family is left waiting for answers while he recovers from his injuries.
