JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
A Vicksburg man is clinging to life after a vicious beating and robbery in Jackson.
It happened at Tri-Miss Recycling on 416 West Woodrow Wilson Avenue Sunday morning at 11:35.
And now, family members and friends of Fred Louis Jackson, 61, are pleading for any information that can help police arrest the criminals.
In a surveillance video, two men can be seen wearing hoodies, sneak up on Jackson, who is beside his pick-up truck parked near a fence.
Police say the pair jumped Jackson, severely beat him with a blunt object, robbed him and left him for dead.
Jackson is a welder who had been hired by Tri-Miss to repair a fence, damaged from a previous break-in.
He is in intensive care at UMC, suffering from severe head trauma.
Jackson's daughters say doctors told them their father has only a 15-percent chance of survival, at this point.
"They said that that could change, but he's got swelling on his brain, his brain has shifted and they said with his age, it carries a high mortality rate," Laurie Jackson said. "Right now, if he does come out of it, he'll never be the same."
"He is a hardworking man," said Sheila Hedrick, Laurie Jackson's sister. "He would help anybody. He's 61, maybe 120 pounds. If they were just gonna rob him, they could've just robbed him, they didn't have to beat him and leave him for dead. It was uncalled for the way they beat him like they did."
Jackson had been on the ground several hours before he was discovered.
The robbers took cash, checks, a cell phone and other valuables.
If you have any information that could lead to an arrest, call Jackson Police or Crimestoppers.
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