Man attacked with machete while walking dog in Austin speaks out

Last week, we told you about a man who was attacked with a machete while walking his dog by a homeless camp at Elmont and Pleasant Valley Road. 

That man, Joshua Walker, is speaking out. 

"A guy grabbed me by my neck, and he said, 'I'm taking your dog' and I said no. I thought it was a joke," he said.

Walker says four attackers with two weapons, a knife and a machete, approached him. 

"The last thing I remember, really, was getting pricked in my back. It just felt like a little prick. It hurt, but then I get hit on my head. Something really bad happened [on my arm]. I knew it right away. I just felt a lot of warm, I couldn't feel my arm, I dropped to the ground right here, asked for help," he said. "It was a huge shock, I was in such disbelief with myself that I couldn't even bear to look at the injuries."

His dog ran to a nearby business.

Walker spent a day and a half in the hospital with wounds to his arm, back, and head. He had to have surgery for a ruptured artery in his arm.

Walker is a welder, and now he has to find another job where he doesn't need to use his arm.

He moved to Austin six months ago and says the neighborhood is supposed to be nice. 

"To just feel unsafe walking across the street, it's crazy. It's another world over there," he said.

Last week, the Austin Police Department said they're taking action to address concerns about people loitering and selling drugs. Neighbors say the homeless camp was cleared out.

With multiple violent crimes happening in the area, Walker says it shouldn't have taken so long, and he and his neighbors think those in the camp will come back. 

"I didn't want to see four deaths and then me almost dying for something to actually happen," he said.

Every time he saw something bad happen, he never thought it would end up happening to him.

"[I would think] how unlucky, but that could never be me, and then it was," he said.

Despite this happening, Walker says he has no plans to move from the area.

Police have not confirmed if the suspects have been caught yet.

If you would like to contribute to Walker's GoFundMe, click here.