Navy veteran brutally beaten, robbed while walking dog in Philadelphia
The attack left Scott Harris with more than 100 stitches, broken teeth and a brain injury.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A Navy veteran is recovering from an attack in the Brewerytown section of Philadelphia that left him with a brain injury.
Scott Harris was walking his dog Saturday night when he was beaten and robbed about a block from his house on West Jefferson Street near N. 30th Street.
"It's kind of ironic. I spent a year in a war zone and two years in a country that's not so safe, and then I come here and get attacked in a neighborhood a block from my house," he said.
Harris served in Iraq and as an advisor in Ukraine. He now works at the Navy Yard. He doesn't remember much from the night of the attack because he has a concussion.
He went outside to walk his dog Nora when he was jumped from behind. He believes the attackers were part of an illegal party at the park near his house. He had called the police earlier in the evening, but they never responded.
The attack left him with more than 100 stitches, broken teeth and a brain injury. The attackers also stole his wallet and credit cards.
"The only thing I cared about was my mother passed, I had her driver's license in my wallet because I always wanted to keep her close," said Harris.
Surveillance video showed three women helping to carry Harris home. He believes they were at the party too and took pity on him.
His partner, Joseph Hurchick, remembers seeing him for the first time after the attack.
"I saw these three young ladies walking him and the dog back to the house. When he got back to the house he was bleeding," Hurchick said. "His shirt was soaked, his pants were soaked. I didn't know if he was stabbed or what."
Harris ended up spending three days in the hospital. Police are now looking into the attack, but haven't made any arrests.
Harris isn't letting this change who he is, but said he will approach the streets of his own neighborhood a little differently.
"You can't let things like this change you, or make you not trust people anymore. Maybe be a little more vigilant," Harris said.
