SandyMaloneBurien, WA – A Good Samaritan is in critical condition after he tried to help a homeless man that was being harassed (video below).
The King County Sheriff’s Office said the incident occurred at about 7 p.m. on Wednesday night near the intersection of First Avenue South and Southwest 148th Street when two drunk men left a restaurant and started assaulting a homeless man, KABB reported.
The men knocked over the homeless man’s bike and cart, which had his small dog in it, and started pushing his property into the road, according to KIRO.
A 39-year-old man ran over and tried to intervene and help the homeless man, but instead of stopping, the drunk men turned on the Good Samaritan, and attacked him with a machete and a chain belt, KOMO reported.
Arne Stevens, the homeless man whom the Good Samaritan was trying to rescue, described the scene that unfolded to KOMO.
“They had him down on his back in the bushes, and they were just hacking the living snot out of him,” Stevens said.
“The big guy with the machete in his right hand and the little guy with the belt – and they were just going to town – bam, bam, bam. Pieces of bushes were flying everywhere,” he said.
The attack was captured on video by a nearby witness.
In the video, two men could be seen attacking someone who was on the ground in the bushes, out of view of the camera.
Over and over again, one man swung a chain belt down on the victim, and then his partner started hacking with his machete, the video showed.
Witnesses said the homeless man tried to help his rescuer, but the men began taking swipes at him with the machete, too. So he ran for help in a nearby restaurant, KOMO reported.
Employees from the restaurant chased and caught one of the suspects, KIRO reported. Police captured the second man when they arrived.
The witness who recorded the video of the attack told KOMO that when police arrived, the attacker with the machete threw the giant knife into the bushes.
“He threw it in the bush and then tried to walk away with his hands in the air like he didn’t do anything, but he had blood just dripping down his arm,” she said.
Police arrested both men, ages 25 and 30, and booked them into the King County Jail. One of the men was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries.
Detectives said they will likely both be charged with felony assault, according to KOMO.
The Good Samaritan was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle in critical condition with multiple knife wounds and other injuries.
KOMO reported that neither the homeless man nor his dog were injured.
You can see the video of the incident below. WARNING – Graphic Content: