'Coward' kicks 84-year-old grandfather in the back in unprovoked attack, knocks him to the ground, runs away

Surveillance video caught the moment an unidentified attacker ran up behind an 84-year-old grandfather, kicked him the back, knocked him to the ground next to his lawnmower, and then ran off Friday.

What are the details?

Salomon Hernandez had just finished mowing his front lawn at his Higate Drive residence in Daly City, California, just before 6 p.m. when the unprovoked attack took place, police told KPIX-TV.

The victim was trying to empty cut grass when a man ran up from behind and jump kicked Hernandez in the back, knocking him to the ground against a wall, the station said.

“I see a little bit of the guy when I turned around," the victim told KPIX. "[He ran] away."

Video shows Hernandez was unable to get himself up, the station said, adding that he stayed on the ground for several minutes until his wife heard him and came over to help him up.

“A lot of pain, lots of pain,” Hernandez noted to KPIX.

Not the first time

He added to the station that this incident represented the second time he was attacked in this manner.

The previous attack took place in September when someone kicked him from behind while he was working on his yard, KPIX said.

The incident six months ago led his kids to set up the surveillance camera, the station said.

“We’re like, ‘Not again!’ We’re angered. We’re surprised. But then we actually finally saw that video," his daughter Diana Cruz explained to KPIX. "It was hard to see, to see my dad on the floor and being attacked like that from behind.

Hernandez at one point during the station's interview pointed to his head and complained of pain there before noting that the mental trauma will remain longer.

The family believes the attacks were targeted and that one person is responsible in both incidents, the station said.

Hernandez told KPIX he has no enemies, has lived in the house for more than 25 years, and has good relationships with all his neighbors.

“Why? What does this guy want from me?” he asked the station.

None of the family members recognized the attacker, KPIX said, but police are hoping someone will. The station reported that the attacker in the surveillance video appeared to be a heavy-set man in his 30s or 40s.

Detectives noted such an attack is very uncommon in Daly City, the station said.

'You’re a coward'

The family has a direct message for the attacker.

“You’re a coward. I’m saying this to your face right now. If you have any guts, you’ll come right now, and you’ll face me," Cruz said defiantly to the culprit, according to KPIX. "I am not afraid of you."

Police are asking neighbors to share with them any surveillance video of the attacker, the station said.