Dupont Circle became the scene of a brutal assault that sent a man to the hospital to get more than 60 stitches.
Timoteo Murphy said he was protecting his friend from a man who sexually assaulted her when the man stabbed him several times.
He told News4 he can still feel the impact of the attack almost two weeks ago. Murphy said the attack occurred at about 10:30 p.m. on June 6. A friend was visiting from L.A. and they went to Dupont Circle to catch up.
“And then all of a sudden, a dark figure with gray sweatpants comes around this corner here and says ‘You don’t know what to do with that butt. Gimme that butt.’ And he grabs my friend by the back of the neck and smacks her in between the legs,” he said.
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Murphy was able to pull his friend away from the attacker, who then got more violent.
“I kicked him in his chest,” Murphy said. “He dropped and I rushed him, and I grabbed him in a headlock, and I put my legs around his waist and I squeezed them as fast as I could. But he was already stabbing me.”
Investigators said Murphy was stabbed in the neck, two times in the left rib and abdomen area and once in his left leg, according to court documents.
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“Blood trail was from here, all the way down, make a left on N, it was straight down N, all the way to 17th,” he said.
The blood trail Murphy is referring to is the roughly five-block trip he made on his bike back to his apartment to get to safety before he was rushed to the hospital for treatment.
Murphy is now recovering and was using a cane to walk slowly.
“It’s something to get used to, for sure,” he said.
Murphy reflected on what he learned from the attack.
“Be careful,” he said. “Sad to say: Trust no one. Land of the free, home of the brave, so be brave. If danger comes to you, stand your ground.”
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His one wish for the suspect is that “He gets help. You can get imprisoned, get out, and be the same problem. But I hope that he gets help.”
Court documents show the suspect is faces two charges: misdemeanor sexual abuse and assault with a dangerous weapon.
“This is a very interesting time in Washington, D.C. It’s sad that we can’t hang out in our parks,” Murphy said. “It’s scary, you know, I have this in my head that I can’t sit down or I have to be cautious of my surroundings.”
