Arrest made in carjacking of WWII vet, 86

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DETROIT, March 2 (UPI) -- A young man arrested Friday was accused of assaulting and injuring an 86-year-old World War II veteran Feb. 22 and stealing his car, Detroit police said.

A Detroit police spokeswoman said the 21-year-old suspect was arrested about 1:30 a.m. No other information about the person was released, the Detroit Free Press reported.

The victim, Aaron Brantley, sustained a broken leg in the carjacking at a gas station in broad daylight after he had attended Bible study, police said.

Ironically, Brantley had bought the car to replace one that had been stolen, the newspaper said.

Brantley, who crawled across the gas station's paved apron calling for help, said he has received well-wishes and donations from people around the world.

"Oh Lord, I've got a lot of response from it, even people from Canada have been calling and talking to me. Washington, D.C., Albuquerque, Buffalo, New York. It makes me feel good that people are interested in what happened, of course," Brantley said.

"I'm just very glad that [carjacker] didn't hurt me worse. He could've shot me."