NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Investigators were trying determine Sunday why a hospital patient in Brooklyn allegedly turned on his nurse and beat her until she was unconscious.

As CBS 2’s Janelle Burrell reported, the nurse, Evelyn Lynch, 70, is fighting for her life. She is in critical condition after undergoing emergency surgery.

The nurse was removing Kwincii Jones’ catheter at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in Brownsville when he knocked her to the ground and began beating her repeatedly, police said. Lynch was transported to the trauma center at Kings County Hospital Center, Burrell reported.

Police say the man was about to leave the hospital Friday afternoon when he became agitated, struck the nurse on the head and knocked her to the floor. She was unconscious as he kicked her about the face and head, causing serious injuries.

“I actually hear she was a sweet old lady,” one Brookdale employee told CBS 2. “That’s why it’s a little weird to me because I don’t know why it would happen. It’s not like she was mean or anything like that.”

An acquaintance of the victim told CBS 2 that a fellow nurse heard the commotion and called for help, an action that may have saved the victim’s life.

Jones then locked himself in a bathroom where he was held by security until police officers arrived, WCBS 880’s Jim Smith reported.

Jones, who was escorted out of the 67th Precinct police station Saturday, faces second-degree assault and attempted murder charges.

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