Special Olympics athlete left in ICU after being beaten in head with baseball bat
Some people simply should not be allowed to walk among the people of a free society unsupervised.
And Paul Lewis Ekstedt of Missoula, Montana, appears to have cemented his name on a list of such people.
According to police, Ekstedt got into an argument with Gary Fuller at the home of a mutual friend and beat Fuller to within an inch of his life with an aluminum baseball bat.
It would seem to have been just another case of “don’t tick off the guy with anger management issues,” except for one small problem.
Gary Fuller is a Special Olympics athlete.
Furthermore, Fuller is a Global Messenger for the organization, serves on the Board for the Special Olympics and isn’t just any Special Olympics athlete; he regularly competes in both the summer and winter editions of the Games.
As if that weren’t enough, Fuller also participates in the Law Enforcement Torch Run, an event that raises funds for the Special Olympics.
And the cherry on the sundae? Fuller reportedly is one of the most well-respected and universally liked people in Missoula.
So why on earth would someone crack him over the head with an aluminum baseball bat, nearly killing him?
Ekstedt is a convicted felon with a violent past. He served a three-year slap-on-the-wrist sentence for criminal endangerment in 2014, the first sign that maybe he’s a menace to society.
Now he faces one count of felony assault and one of misdemeanor obstruction of justice.
If Ekstedt is convicted, one can only hope the judge uses every punitive measure at the disposal of law enforcement in the Treasure State.
There is, however, some good news in all of this: Fuller appears to be making a recovery.
It was touch and go for a while. Fuller ended up on a ventilator after undergoing an emergency surgery on Thursday night. His father told KECI-TV that the prognosis was “grim.”
But when Friday morning came, Fuller recognized the voice of his mother and opened his eyes. Between the medical intervention and a bit of divine intervention, he pulled through.
By Friday afternoon, Fuller was off the ventilator, and while he still has a long way to go to make a full recovery, the worst of the danger has passed.
There is, as yet, no word on a motive for the attack; whether it is a hate crime due to Fuller’s disabled status or just a dangerously unstable, violent man committing a random act of cruelty remains in the realm of speculation.
But Gary Fuller is alive, Paul Ekstedt is in custody and all, thankfully, appears well.
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