Lonn Hartman's brutal assault at Michigan music festival leaves friends shattered
'He didn't deserve it': Michigan music festival victim still recovering
Lonn Hartman, the Auburn Hills man and member of a Detroit nonprofit, continues to improve after he suffered a brutal attack at Blissfest in Harbor Springs.
(FOX 2) - Friends and family of the Metro Detroit man brutally assaulted at a music festival up north continue to see Lonn Hartman improve after he was found hanging out of his tent with severe lacerations around his neck.
They said Hartman told them who assaulted him, communicating by blinking his eyes and nodding his head.
The 37-year-old has spent the past week and a half in the hospital after attending Blissfest, a small music festival in Harbor Springs. While police have said the case is a ‘high priority,' they have yet to release an update on the near-fatal assault.
Lonn Hartman made people ‘wanna smile’
What they're saying:
Paul Gross described his friend as someone who wanted to give back.
"He's someone who he walks into the room and - you just wanna smile and I’m glad he’s better but I just wish I never had to see him in that space," he said.
Gross added that the motive behind the attack was not clear, but said the painted picture of a ‘young Black man’ in a ‘predominately white area' as having something to do with it.
"Do I know why this happened? No. Do I know who did it? No. But is there a consistent similar space in this I think everybody can see that," he said. "He’s human — he didn't deserve it and I hope he makes it out of it."
Terace Garnier, another friend of Hartman, said his condition is improving. She offered similar details that aligned with Gross's characterization of the scene around the music festival.
"He told us who did this so we know who did this. The individuals were Caucasian, so we believe it’s a hate crime and potentially a crime of passion," said Garnier. "I told him, I said ‘hey I got an update for you I said your kids miss you and they want you to know they say they miss Mr. Lonn’ and as soon as I said that, tears just started streaming down his face. Even in the hospital bed he’s still thinking about his kids."
Blissfest attack on Auburn Hills man may have been hate crime, family say
The night before Lonn Hartman's body was found hanging out of his tent, the 37-year-old had sent a text message to his family that he did not feel safe. The next morning, he had lacerations near his neck and had lost several pints of blood.
The backstory:
Hartman traveled up to Harbor Springs with his dance partner and a few others to perform at Blissfest.
Around Saturday evening on July 11, he went to bed early after the performance. The next morning, according to his friend Terace Garnier, he was found around 9 a.m. "hanging out of his tent."
He had two large cuts near his neck, she said, adding he had lost eight pints of blood.
"'It was looking like he shouldn’t be alive right now' is basically what they were saying with the amount of blood that he lost," Garnier said.
The assault has left the community shaken and Hartman's friends at a loss for words.
"You ask anybody about him and they will tell you he would give you the shirt off of his back for anybody and frankly we’re all shocked and in disbelief of who would do something to such a sweet person," said Garnier.
Metro Detroit man hospitalized after brutal attack at Michigan festival
Lonn Hartman, 37, was brutally attacked while attending a Bliss Fest in Harbor Springs, his friends say. He was discovered with two large lacerations around his collar bone early Sunday morning. Friends of Hartman say the attack could be a hate crime.
What is Blissfest?
Dig deeper:
Blissfest is an annual music festival that takes place in Harbor Springs in mid-July.
Hosted in the forest, the festival provides more than a hundred different acts across several different venues. According to its website, the festival is held on a 200-acre farm outside Cross Village.
Approximately 5,000 people attend every year and are treated to food, crafts, and other vendors.
The Source: Interviews with friends and previous coverage was cited for this story.