VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Police are investigating an assault that sent a man to the hospital with serious injuries.
On Saturday, September 10, at approximately 5 a.m., police say a male victim heard a disturbance near the intersection of 16th Street and Cypress Avenue.
When he stepped outside of the home to investigate, the victim was repeatedly punched and stomped on.
"I got punched in the face, all I remember is going down, falling into a ditch, trying to block kicks with my arms," says the victim, who asked News 3 to protect his identity for his safety.
He says he heard yelling and fighting outside, and what sounded like a woman getting assaulted, so he stepped outside to see what was going on. As he called 9-1-1 and walked closer to the scene, which was near the Ocean Walk apartments, he says a man approached him out of nowhere.
After the attack, the victim says he walked himself home, but it took him almost an hour to remember parts of what happened.
"I was awoken by him saying, 'did something happen to me?' It was very scary to me, and it was, you know, someone you love, so it's heartbreaking," says the victim's wife.
The victim sustained broken bones in his eye socket, a deep gash above his eye, bleeding in his brain, and a shattered tooth.
While his injuries have improved, he still has a long road to recovery ahead. He says he still cannot drive, work, or do daily activities that involve concentration, even watching television.
"This just really has affected me because now there's an uncertainty, if someone were to do that, what else would they do?"
Detectives are asking anyone with information of hearing or seeing anything related to this assault to call Virginia Beach Crime Solvers at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.