Man speaks out after getting his fingers chopped off in machete attack while trying to protect dog

Sonia Rincón Image
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Man speaks out after getting his fingers chopped off in machete attack while trying to protect dog
Sonia Rincon has more from the Bronx.

WEST FARMS, The Bronx (WABC) -- A sweet and friendly pit bull named Chanel was missing her owner on Monday night. Rakeem Young is in the hospital -- he is having three fingers surgically re-attached after a machete attack.

"Trying to protect my dog, man, from these people out here that have no control, no self-control," Young said.

Police released video of a man in a colorful outfit, wielding a machete as Chanel goes to say hi to another dog.

"And he just swings the machete and that's when I throw my hand up to grab it and it sliced off my fingers," Young says.

Young says that Chanel was not barking or menacing. He has had her since she was a puppy and she was never aggressive - just a little curious.

Young was wondering why the man was carrying around a machete.

"It goes to show that people come outside looking for problems and looking for trouble," he added.

Young's aunt, Tashemia Young is currently taking care of Chanel, and is worried that police still have not caught the guy.

"I come outside to walk to dogs, what about if this man feels like he couldn't finish the job and he wants to do something? It's very scary," she says.

She also says she won't take Chanel anywhere near the bodega on Southern Boulevard where the incident happened on Friday, and is urging anyone who recognizes him to call the police.

Young, meanwhile, says he knows he has a rough recovery ahead. His family has started a GoFundMe to help.

However, he says he would do it all over again before letting someone attack Chanel.

"That would have tormented me for the rest of my life. So yes, I gave my hand for my dog," he says.

Young had never seen his attacker before, but neighbors told him and the police that they had seen him and that he was staying at a nearby shelter. If that is the case, another question for police to answer is how this person got past the shelter security with the machete.

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