The 28-year-old victim, Ojas Junnarkar, was walking alone on the running track at Pershing Field Sunday evening when he was assaulted by a suspect, believed to be armed with a brass-knuckle knife.
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That suspect, 22-year-old Santos Camacho, was arrested on multiple charges including aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a weapon.
After the attack, Junnarkar was able to walk home. That's when his upstairs neighbor realized something was wrong.
"I saw his hands were bloody, his whole clothes, everything was bloody," said Osman Gani, a friend of the victim.
Gani rendered aid and then put Junnarkar into the back seat of his car while blood was flowing and drove him to the hospital.
"The surgeon said, 'thank god you brought him in time, if it would have been two hours later, he would have been gone,'" Gani said.
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Junnarkar ended up at Jersey City Medical Center because the injuries were serious.
"That knife went all the way in straight to the kidney, and the colon has a hole, the kidney has a hole," Gani said.
Junnarkar's parents live in India and was not aware of their son's condition. Junnarkar was undergoing a third surgery and on Friday afternoon Gani spoke to him in the hospital and shared a recording of the conversation.
"Still after a couple of surgeries, the doctor says that my kidney is not functioning as expected, so I might need another surgery," Junnarkar said in a recording. "I'm fighting for my life, and I thank you very much to my friends and family, the police officials."
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Junnarkar cover the medical bills.
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So far, it has raised nearly $24,000, but they are asking for $45,000. Friends who set up the page are supporting Junnarkar any way they can.
"I think it's necessary for us to come as a community to help a young gentleman get back on his feet , medical bills are piling up," Junnarkar's friend Nithin Mohan said.
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