Al and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day



Early on the morning of Tuesday, February 7th, my good friend and property manager Al was the victim of a violent home invasion.



He awoke around 1AM to the sound of somebody knocking on his door. Being the trusting fellow that he is, he answered, likely assuming that whoever it was needed help with something or another.



Instead, three masked men pushed their way into his apartment. Al put up a strong fight, but was overcome when they pistol-whipped him. Next, they dragged him to his room, hogtied him with his own extension cords, and demanded to know where he kept his money. Al told them that he did not have any and began crying out for help, so the criminals put their gun to the side of his head and told him that if he did not keep quiet, they would blow his head off. They relieved Al of the work knife from his belt and cut his cheek, continuing to demand money and silence.



Al gave them the money he had for his rent payment, as well as the rent money from the neighbor next door, which he intended to deposit later in the afternoon, which amounted to approximately $900.



The criminals continued to beat Al, taking turns choking him, spraying him with bleach, and kicking his sides.



They wanted more money. When Al told them that he simply did not have more, they threatened to cut his finger off. When he told them again that he did not have any money, they cut his right middle finger through the tendon, straight to the bone. In agony, Al persisted. There was no more money, and he told them that they were just going to have to kill him or leave because he did not have more.



The criminals retreated to the hallway to discuss whether or not to murder him, ultimately determining that they would not.



Instead, they proceeded to ransack his entire house. They stole his work tools, wallet, keys, phone, three guitars, two amplifiers, nearly all of his clothes, and a host of other items. To add insult to injury, they took a box of important documentation into the shower and filled the box full of hot water.



Upon leaving, the criminals told Al that they had friends in the neighborhood and that if he went to the police, they would be back to kill him.



Suffering from broken ribs and a butchered finger, Al freed himself from the extension cords and dragged his way to the next door neighbor to call me.



I received the message and got over to his house about 8:30AM. Upon arrival, I could hear Al moaning in pain on his couch. I had no idea what happened at that point, just that he had an emergency. He was unable to get up from his position, so I let myself in.



I walked into his thrashed apartment to see my hardworking friend, his face and hair caked with blood, barely able to breathe through the pain of several broken ribs. I immediately noticed his finger, like a piece of raw meat, and Al relayed the entire harrowing tale of what transpired.



I immediately changed the locks on the apartment, replaced his phone, cancelled his credit cards, and worked to convince him to report the incident to the police and get his injuries evaluated at an emergency room. He was understandably terrified of going to the police due to the credible threat the criminals made, and was hesitant to go to the hospital due to the expense. Al is of modest means, but even despite that, while I was helping him navigate all of the challenges of cancelling debit cards and replacing phones, he offered me half of the money in his account for my trouble. I declined.



Later that evening, I called the police to make a generic incident report, heeding his desire to keep the authorities at bay. Luckily, they ignored my plea, made contact with Al, convinced him to begin an investigation, and get medical attention.



I am happy to report that Al is now out of the hospital. The surgeon was successful in repairing the severed tendon, and he is back at home. Certainly still sore, but miles better than 72 hours ago.



Many of you know Al, or know of Al, so if you have the means, and are feeling generous, please contribute! He has some big medical bills coming, and he has to replace a lot of work and personal items in order to get back on his feet. Any little bit helps!

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