Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) revealed on Monday that one of his staffers was attacked in Washington, D.C., over the weekend.
The employee, who was not identified by Paul, is recovering and a suspect has been arrested, the lawmaker said in a statement.
“This past weekend a member of my staff was brutally attacked in broad daylight in Washington, D.C.,” Paul 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,” Paul added, referring to his wife.
“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,” Paul concluded.
Reporters said they were able to confirm the employee was the same person who D.C. police said was attacked on H Street NE on Saturday.
The Metropolitan Police Department said the victim, an adult male, was stabbed multiple times and treated at a hospital for life-threatening injuries. Court documents show the victim told a detective at the hospital that he did not know the suspect nor did the suspect make any demands prior to the attack.
A police news release on Monday said a suspect, identified as 42-year-old Glynn Neal of Southeast D.C., was arrested and charged with Assault with Intent to Kill (Knife).
Officers spoke with a witness who said he and the victim were walking eastbound on the 1300 block of H Street NE on Saturday afternoon when the suspect “popped” out of a corner and proceeded to stab the victim with a knife multiple times, according to a police report obtained by the Daily Wire.
Police said the witness tackled the suspect to the ground, after which the witness and victim ran away and were able to get another person to call police. This person observed the victim “on the ground bleeding from the head” and helped to attend to the wounds while waiting for an ambulance, the police report added.
Detectives tracked down and arrested Neal on Sunday using a cell phone recovered from the scene, according to an affidavit. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday
The attack took place in the days after President Joe Biden signed a measure that blocked changes to the D.C. criminal code that critics regarded as being too soft on crime. This followed Republicans being joined by some Democrats in Congress in taking a stand against changes that included reducing minimum sentences for some violent crimes.
A House Democrat, Angie Craig of Minnesota, made headlines last month after she was violently assaulted in an elevator at her apartment building in D.C. Police arrested a homeless man, 26-year-old Kendrick Hamlin, in connection to that attack.
Paul himself was grievously injured, suffering multiple broken ribs, due to an assault in 2017 by a neighbor in Kentucky.
In 2020, Paul said he and his wife were “attacked by an angry mob” after leaving the White House where they attended a speech by then-President Donald Trump for the Republican National Convention.