At least one assailant attacked and robbed a U.S. Navy veteran in Philadelphia Saturday night, police said.
Scott Harris, 62, suffered a brain injury, broken teeth and severe swelling – and required roughly 100 stitches – after he was attacked just before midnight in Philadelphia’s Brewerytown neighborhood, NBC10 reported.
“That night on Saturday, there was a huge party going on over here,” Harris said. “A little bit out of control but nothing terribly concerning to me. Next thing you know, I’m in the emergency room getting stitches.”
Police said at least one attacker beat Harris unconscious and stole his wallet, which held an irreplaceable item close to Harris’ heart.
“Sadly, only thing I really cared about in that wallet was my mother’s driver’s license,” Harris said. “She passed about 10 years ago. That’s kind of how I kept her close and now I don’t even have that.”
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Harris said he served one year in “a warzone in Iraq” and two years in Ukraine, noting that he “would not have expected this to happen in my own neighborhood.”
Three women helped Harris get home to his partner, Joseph Hurchick, according to Fox 29.
“They brought him back; otherwise, I don’t know what would have happened,” Hurchick said. “We were on the stoop and he was just bleeding, I was on the phone with 911, I didn’t know where the blood was coming from, I didn’t know if he was stabbed.”
Harris and Hurchick said they have both called the police multiple times over the large crowds gathering for late-night parties, but their complaints have been ignored.
“This is what happens when something is not policed, it could have been worse,” Hurchick said. “It’s going to take a murder for this to stop.”
