A coronavirus patient was arrested and charged with murdering his roommate at a Los Angeles hospital with an oxygen tank after he began to pray, local authorities reported Wednesday.
Jesse Martinez, 37, was arrested on suspicion of murder and posted a million dollar bond, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (LASD) in a statement.
The event occurred around 9.45 am (local time), on December 17, at Antelope Valley Hospital, in the city of Lancaster, north of the county.
Martinez and the 82-year-old victim were dealing with a coronavirus infection in the same room
, the LASD reported.
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"(The victim) was staying in a room for two people inside the hospital with the suspect, who was also there receiving treatment," the authorities detailed.
“The suspect was upset when the victim began to pray.
Then he hit the victim with an oxygen tank, "they added.
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The name of the 82-year-old victim, who died the day after the attack, was not released pending notification of family members, but the LASD said he was Hispanic and apparently knew his alleged assailant.
Martinez was charged with murder, hate crime and elder abuse and will appear in Antelope Valley Court on Monday.
The authorities have not specified if the detainee has already been discharged from the hospital or if he is in custody within the medical institution.
It was also not disclosed if it has already overcome COVID-19.
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The incident occurs when California has already exceeded two million coronavirus infections, according to data from NBC News, Telemundo's sister network, and hospitals are overwhelmed with new hospitalizations, which have increased by 21% since last week, according to The Washington Post.
Los Angeles County, which includes Lancaster, is responsible for about a third of the state's cases
.
On Wednesday, the county recorded more than 6,800 hospitalizations, according to the state's coronavirus control panel.
Lancaster, a city of nearly 160,000, has suffered more than 12,000 cases as of Tuesday, according to the city's website.
With information from EFE and The Washington Post.