Image released of naked cannibal killed by Miami police as he ate homeless man's face

31-year-old Rudy Eugene was high on drugs when he carried out his cannibal attack

The first image has been released of Rudy Eugene, the homeless man shot and killed by Miami police as he ate another man’s face.

Eugene, 31, is thought to have been high on a powerful form of LSD when he attacked another homeless man, ripping off chunks of the man’s flesh with his teeth.

Both men were naked at the time of the attack.

The unidentified victim is currently fighting for his life in intensive care at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital hospital, after Eugene chewed off up to 80 per cent of his face, including his nose and eyes, in what hospital spokesperson called "some of the worst [injuries] staff had ever encountered."

Police were initially called to reports of two naked men fighting on the MacArthur Causeway bike path, which was packed with people heading to the annual Memorial Day hip hop festival at the time.

Witness Larry Vega told WSVN-TV in Miami, "The guy was, like, tearing him to pieces with his mouth, so I told him 'get off'...[but] the guy just kept eating the other guy away, like, ripping his skin."

Police initially repeatedly ordered Eugene to stop, but Mr Vega says he just “picked up his head and growled at the officer”.

Police then shot Eugene, but he carried on his attack, after which officers shot him several more times until he died.  

Much of the attack was caught on the CCTV cameras of the office building that houses the Miami Herald newspaper. The images went viral in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

Today, the Herald reported that Eugene left few clues about the cause of his attack, saying court records revealed he had married in December 2005, but divorced just over two years later.

“I wouldn’t say he had mental problem but he always felt like people was against him... No one was for him, everyone was against him,” his ex-wife told Miami-based television station WPLG.

The Miami Herald also reported that Eugene had previously been arrested on a battery charge when he was 16, but that charge was later dropped. He was arrested seven more time over the next five years, four times for marijuana offences, once for misdemeanour battery, once for vending near a school and once for trespassing.