Newly released footage shows the horrifying moment one of Sen. Rand Paul’s staffers was wounded by a knife-wielding assailant back in March.
Paul aide, Phillip Todd, can be seen casually wandering the streets of Washington, DC, after leaving a restaurant March 25 when he gets jumped.
The suspect, 42-year-old Glynn Neal, drives Todd to the ground before viciously stabbing him repeatedly in his head and chest.
Todd suffered a punctured lung and brain bleed that necessitated multiple rounds of surgery, prosecutors say.
His friend, Christopher Barnard, who intervened to help stop the assault, was unscathed.
Todd’s parents credited Barnard with preventing the assault from becoming a murder.
Authorities said the attack on Todd was random, while charging documents say Neil told arresting detectives “a voice was telling him that someone was going to get him for all the things he done.”
Footage of the attack was released Tuesday by prosecutors in response to a motion from the Washington Post.
The video, taken from a security camera, was played during a preliminary hearing for Neal last month.
Neal was apprehended by authorities hours after the assault. Investigators were led to the suspect after discovering his phone on the sidewalk near where the attack transpired.
Neal, who has been charged with assault with intent to kill, allegedly attacked Todd a day after he was released from prison, prosecutors said.
Neal had been convicted in 2011 on various charges including threats to kidnap or injure a person and obstruction of justice.
He was mandated to undergo psychiatric evaluations after being deemed temporarily incompetent for trial. The next hearing he faces is slated for Sept. 8.
The Todd attack took place on the same street as the apartment building where Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) had been assaulted by by a crazed suspect with a long rap sheet back in February.
Paul himself was also the victim of a violent assault by a neighbor in 2017 over a landscaping dispute.
That attack left the senator with six broken ribs and bruised lungs. One of his injured lungs had to be removed roughly two years after the attack.
Paul publicly wished Todd a speedy recovery at the time and urged the public to respect his privacy.
“I ask you to join Kelley and me in praying for a speedy and complete recovery, and thanking the first responders, hospital staff, and police for their diligent actions,” the Kentucky Republican told The Post.
“We are relieved to hear the suspect has been arrested. At this time we would ask for privacy so everyone can focus on healing and recovery.”
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