ATLANTA — An Army soldier home on leave is recovering Friday after being attacked and having his weapon stolen. The victim said he believes a family member set him up.
The soldier, who did not want to be identified, still had injuries all over his body from the Saturday beating and robbery. He wasn't in uniform as he'd just gotten home on leave, and said he wasn't in town a full day before being attacked.
Saturday night he was hanging out with his cousin T.J. at the Rolling Bends Apartments in northwest Atlanta. They were inside the soldier's blue Chevrolet Impala when he said suddenly seven men approached his car.
Then, the soldier said, something strange happened.
"They were coming up to the car, I noticed T.J. hit the unlock button, they came up to the side of the car, they opened the door and grabbed my rifle," said the soldier.
He jumped out of the car and tried to get the weapon back but, he said, the men kicked and punched him and hit him over the head with a glass bottle.
"I tried to call out to my cousin T.J. but he didn't do anything," said the soldier.
He eventually went to the hospital where he was treated for head injuries and facial abrasions among other injuries. He said his physical wounds are not the worst part of the ordeal.
"A weapon like that being in a neighborhood like that is not a good combination," said the soldier. "I still feel betrayed by my family because T.J., that's my blood. Like, how are you going to value the streets more than your own cousin?"
WSBTV
