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Rand Paul staffer brutally attacked with knife in D.C. in broad daylight, sustains life-threatening injuries

March 28, 2023 | | Print Article

An attack “in broad daylight” left a staffer to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) hospitalized with “life-threatening injuries” in Washington, D.C. “war zone.”

(Video: Fox 5)

Monday, Paul released a statement confirming that over the weekend a member of his team had been “brutally attacked” in what was believed to be a random incident. The suspect, who was later arrested, was identified as 42-year-old Glynn Neal who had been released from prison one day earlier.

“This past weekend a member of my staff was brutally attacked in broad daylight in Washington, D.C.,” the senator said. “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. 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.”

Though initially not specified, the police report identified the victim as Phil Todd who had been walking with a friend after 5 p.m. when the suspect “popped out of the corner” and proceeded to stab Todd in the torso and head.

According to the report, the victim “was able to grab [the suspect’s] arms” before he and the witness were said to have tackled Neal, “leading to a struggle between the parties.”

Todd and his friend fled to safety while the suspect was said to have gotten up and walked away to be arrested later. Meanwhile, the victim was hospitalized “for treatment of life-threatening injuries.”

Speaking with Fox 5, a resident of D.C. who wished to remain anonymous expressed her fears living in the area and said, “I’m in the middle of a war zone and I try to not be desensitized — I try to stay sensitive. I’m so tired of hearing these kinds of stories. Also, we just gotta do better as a city as far as gradually getting people the help and the service that they need.”

A motive had not been identified in the stabbing, but the outlet did report that after having been released from his 12-year prison sentence for first-degree sex abuse charges, having forced two women into prostitution in North Carolina, Fox 5’s Adrienne DiPiazza reported that Neal was said to have told police there was a “voice in his head telling him someone was gonna get him for what he had done and that he was gonna get that person first.”

While the attack on Todd may have been a random act of violence in the crime-ridden nation’s capital, Paul himself had been a victim of assault in 2017 when his neighbor Rene Boucher had reportedly tackled the senator to the ground, allegedly upset that Paul had blown some leaves onto the adjoining property.

The attack left the Kentucky lawmaker with six broken ribs, and pleural effusion and resulted in his contracting pneumonia. Meanwhile, Boucher was sentenced to 30 days in prison and a year of supervised release.

Kevin Haggerty
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