Vietnam vet attacked with crowbar believes he was targeted in hate crime

Vietnam vet speaks out after crowbar attack

Edwin Salvator Gonzalez was beaten with a crowbar outside a laundromat in Maryland earlier this week. He spoke exclusively with FOX 5's Tisha Lewis about what happened, and why he believes he was targeted.

LORTON, Va. - A Vietnam War veteran is speaking out just days after he was beaten with a crowbar at a Maryland laundromat. He spoke exclusively with FOX 5 about why he believes the attack was a hate crime.

Vietnam veteran attacked with crowbar

What we know:

Edwin Salvatore Gonzalez was released from the hospital this week, just days after the brutal attack in Bladensburg. He's now staying with family.

Gonzalez believes he was targeted because he's Latino. Even so, he says this is not the first time the suspect, whom Bladensburg police have identified as Kelachi Amadi, has assaulted someone. This time, Amadi has been charged with attempted second-degree murder.

FOX 5's Tisha Lewis spoke with Gonzalez at his family's home in Lorton, Virginia, Thursday, with the lacerations on his head still fresh, seeping with blood, and with more than 100 stitches. Gonzalez was still wearing his hospital wristband.

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The attack happened Monday, May 4, around the lunchtime hour.

Gonzalez said he was painting window art for Mother's Day at the Bladensburg 24-hour Wash and Dry off Annapolis Road. Gonzalez said he saw his attacker minutes earlier while he was getting coffee at a nearby 7-Eleven. There, Gonzalez said the suspect was banging the crowbar on the counter at the cash register.

"I didn't know what was going on," Gonzalez said. "I thought the ceiling was coming down, or maybe it was an accident in traffic or something." 

Gonzalez said he believes he was targeted because he is Latino. He and his family believe the attack was a hate crime. 

Bladensburg Police say they are not investigating the attack as a hate crime. Maryland court records show that Amadi has had several prior run-ins with the law, including charges for assault and resisting arrest.