News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. July 19, 2013: New York police on Thursday released new video and a sketch of a man they suspect of beating Jamaican-born Grammy-Nominated Reggae Artist Andrew “Dru” Barnes, 34, with a hammer as he was walking home from a friend’s house at 11 a.m. on July 11th in Brooklyn, NY.
The unidentified man reportedly approached Barnes near 934 Jefferson Ave. in Brooklyn and struck him repeatedly in the face and neck with a hammer, according to police and reports.
The man then fled the location, and surveillance video released by police shows him running along Howard Avenue onto Hancock Street. Police believe the attacker was following Barnes for a block before the attack.
Barnes of the alternative reggae band JOGYO was rushed to Kings County Hospital, where a doctor said he would lose his left eye, according to friends.
Friends of the victim have set up a support page with updated information to help pay the costs of his medical bills. Barnes is at home recovering before his second scheduled surgery next week.
Barnes, according to a friend on a Facebook page set up to help the singer, will need multiple operations to repair the damage and to prep the eye socket for a prosthesis. He featured on the 2011 Grammy nominated record “Kingston Morning” by Dave Eggar.
“Dru is going to lose his left eye. The damage was too severe to repair it. Too many parts of his eye were severed,” states Barnes’ friend Gerrit Vooren in the post.
Fans are also being asked to donate money for Barne’s upcoming operations at https://www.gofundme.com/3l62ig
The investigation is ongoing, police said. Anyone with information on the attack can contact authorities at Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
See video of the alleged assailant cops want below:
