Machete attack on man in front of KIA forum, victim may lose arm

Hawthorne resident James O’Neill was attacked last Saturday while trying to catch an Uber after a concert at the KIA Forum.

KABC reports that the 36-year-old man attended a Janet Jackson concert at the Forum. After the event, O’Neill claimed he was walking alone along Prairie Avenue when he was attacked by about eight men. One of the mob stabbed him with a machete and then robbed him of his wallet and phone. He suffered a cut on his arm.

“I had sort of tunnel vision and started thinking about friends and family. Yeah, I just thought my life was going to end and it was just horrible,” O’Neill told the media outlet.

Bystanders intervened to stop the attack and then bandaged his wound.

O’Neill went to the hospital, where medical staff told him he would need multiple surgeries and that he might lose his arm. He has no health insurance.

A friend has set up a GoFundMe account to help him during his recovery.