Police: Des Plaines man charged with hate crime in security guard’s stabbing

A Des Plaines man was charged with a hate crime after a security guard at the assisted living center where he lives was attacked, police said.

James Hammerand, 63, of the 800 block of South Des Plaines River Road, also is charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery.

The confrontation occurred about 2:40 a.m. Saturday in an elevator, police said in a news release. Hammerand tried to punch the victim and then cut him in the abdomen, police said. Hammerand also uttered a racial slur, police said.

Hammerand was arrested after officers spotted him nearby. He was carrying a box cutter, according to the release.

The security guard’s injury was minor and he didn’t need to be hospitalized, police said.

Hammerand was turned over to the Cook County sheriff’s office, police said. He’s scheduled to appear in the Skokie branch of Cook County circuit court July 18.