Suspect in Fil-Am mauling nabbed; victim faces long recovery

By: Elpidio R. Estioko - 10 years ago

Mauling suspect Troung Son Huynh.

MILPITAS, California — Police has arrested one of two men in connection with the brutal assault last month on a Filipino American teenager, who sustained serious head trauma and brain injury and is still at the ICU at press time.

Troung Son Huynh, 25, of San Jose was arrested at his home and booked into jail on suspicion of felony battery, San Jose police said. The other suspect is still at large.

According to police, 17-year-old Christian Rasner of Milpitas was hanging out with a cousin at the Westfield Valley Fair Mall in San Jose on March 11 when two men approached him and asked if he was affiliated with gangs.

Based on the cousin’s account of the incident, relayed to the victim’s parents Greg and Maria Rasner, Christian, a high school junior honor student, told the men he had no gang ties and tried to walk away, but the attackers followed him in the parking lot and beat him up. The elder Rasner, an IT manager at a leading Silicon Valley firm, said the force of the blows was so tremendous that his son actually got fractures in his eye sockets. He added that his son was in the Superintendent’s Honor Roll for 2014 and has absolutely no gang ties.

Mauling victim, Fil-Am Christian Rasner.

Speaking to FilAm Star by phone Tuesday, April 7, Greg said Christian is still in ICU but is very much better, and has started to talk, albeit with difficulty.

“He is no longer under sedation but I think his full recovery will take a long process, between six months and one year of therapy, because he suffered a major brain injury,” Greg said. “But what is good is that, at the moment, he is not scheduled for any surgery yet. His doctors are impressed with the way Christian is responding to treatment.”

Greg and wife, Maria, an IT specialist who originally hails from Cebu City, reiterated their gratitude for the outpouring of public support, including those who contributed to an online GoFundMe.com account that has been set up to help raise funds for Christian’s medical expenses.

They said they were deeply moved by the fact that in just a few days after the online account went live, $9,600 of the target $10,000 was raised.