Museum employee was asked for a cigarette. He said no and his ear was bit off, cops say

A Chicago man didn’t have a cigarette on him — and part of his ear was bitten off because of it, police say.

A fight broke out shortly before 7 a.m. Thursday outside the Art Institute of Chicago, a major art museum in the Loop area of the city, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Police say 53-year-old Donnell Young asked a museum employee for a cigarette outside the building, and the man told Young he didn’t have one, the according to the paper.

That’s when police say Young punched the man in the back of the head, grabbed hold of his left ear with his teeth and chewed part of it off, WGN reported.

“Out of the corner of my eye, I see two guys side by side. One guy took a swing at the other guy,” a witness told ABC 7. “And I thought it was a punch, but when I went outside to check on the guy, he was missing part of his ear.”

Police said Young fled the scene, according to the station.

“Just mind-boggling. Like, when I went out there and I looked down, and I was just like, ‘really?’” a cafe worker who witnessed the fight told WGN and CNN. He told the station he went to check on the victim and saw part of his ear on the ground.

The man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and treated for his injuries, Patch reported. The Art Institute released a statement emphasizing the importance of employee safety.

“The safety and wellbeing of our employees and students is our first concern, and we have notified our campus community immediately. We are working closely with the Chicago Police Department as they conduct their investigation,” museum officials wrote, according to WGN.

Police identified Young based on a cell phone picture taken by the victim and charged him with two felony counts of aggravated battery, the Sun-Times reported.