Rudy Eugene, 31, was shot dead by police after he attacked another homeless man, ripping flesh from his face with his teeth while high on drugs
This is the face of the naked homeless man dubbed the ‘Miami cannibal’ who was shot dead by police as he ate another man’s face.
Rudy Eugene, 31, was believed to have been high on a new potent form of LSD when he savagely attacked another homeless man, ripping pieces of his skin off with his teeth.
The victim, who was also naked, is fighting for life in intensive care suffering from severe facial injuries as his attacker bit his eyes and chewed off his nose.
Up to 80 per cent of the victim’s face was affected, with the Miami hospital describing his injuries as “some of the worst staff had ever encountered”.
Police had initially responded to reports of two naked men fighting on the city’s MacArthur Causeway bikepath.
At the time of the attack on Saturday afternoon the area was packed with people going to the city’s annual Memorial Day hip-hop festival.
The fight happened at an exit close to the Miami Herald newspaper offices, and some of the incident was caught on their CCTV cameras.
A surveillance video camera showed images of the men’s naked legs lying side by side after the shooting.
Witness Larry Vega said he was riding his bike off the MacArthur Causeway, which connects the centre of the city with the beach, when he saw the horrific attack.
Mr Vega told WSVN-TV in Miami: “The guy was, like, tearing him to pieces with his mouth, so I told him, ‘Get off’.
“The guy just kept eating the other guy away, like, ripping his skin.”
Mr Vega flagged down a Miami police officer, who he said repeatedly ordered the attacker to get off the victim.
The attacker just picked his head up and growled at the officer, Mr Vega said.
The police officer at the scene ordered the man to stop his gruesome attack. The cannibal apparently responded with a growl before continuing to gnaw at the face of his victim.
Armando Aguilar of the Fraternal Order of Police said: “He growled at him like a wild animal and kept eating at the man’s face.”
When the order to stop was ignored the police officer shot him. The first bullet had no effect – so the officer continued firing, eventually killing the attacker.
Miami police’s Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Javier Ortiz said: “Based on the information provided, our Miami police officer is a hero and saved a life.”