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Victim of River North beating, robbery speaks out
A man seen on viral video being beaten and robbed in Chicago’s River North neighborhood is speaking out.
CHICAGO - A man seen on viral video being beaten and robbed in Chicago’s River North neighborhood is speaking out.
The incident, which happened early Saturday morning in the middle of State Street, was the first of two attacks to occur in River North in a week.
One of the victims in the attack, 55-year-old Edwin Barone, is a chef at a local restaurant. He says what surprised him most about the attack is that nobody came to his aid, even as dozens of people stood by and watched.
"Nobody helped me. There was a crowd of people and they're all watching me get beat up," Barone said. "I think it’s terrible that people are so desensitized now."
The second attack in a week happened Wednesday morning, when a bank employee was stabbed in the neck. She is hospitalized at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition.
"What's going on, what's occurring in this area? It's unconscionable. It's our neighborhood. It's event after event. Never seen anything like this," said resident Michael Noble.
An eyewitness who does not want to be identified says the attacker appeared to be mentally unstable, shouting at people as he fled the bank.
"I saw a guy with a pretty big knife with blood on it, and he was running with a head of steam," the eyewitness said.
The suspect remains at large and police still do not have a motive, although people tell us he had been seen with the knife threatening other people in river north before the bank attack.