Pizzeria manager speaks out after recovery from brutal attack
FLATIRON, Manhattan (WABC) -- A pizzeria manager in Manhattan, who was left in a medically-induced coma after being brutally attacked by a man and his dog, is speaking out following his miraculous recovery.
"A lot of times I felt like I really died, I was in a dream," said the victim, Zakaira El Sherief.
El Sherief was viciously beaten by a stranger, who left him for dead.
"I kept telling him, 'Why are you doing that?' when I was lying on the floor, because it was surprising. What he was doing, it was crazy," El Sherief said.
Eyewitness News spoke exclusively with Zakaira, also known as "Zak," at his workplace, Roma Pizza, in the Flatiron District.
"He insisted to kill me," El Sherief said.
In a video that's very graphic, it shows Tyshaun Watson attacking the married father of three, first inside, and then outside.
It was August 19, 2024. Doctors placed El Sherief in a medically-induced coma and spent two months trying to save him.
"The first thing I remember after I wake up in October," El Sherief said.
It all started when Watson walked into the restaurant with his Pit Bull off-leash, ordered and sat down.
Over the next few minutes, El Sherief, seen in a red baseball cap, several times told his attacker that he could not keep his dog inside because it's the law.
Watson didn't budge and refused to leave with his dog.
He eventually did come to the counter, and things quickly escalated.
Watson charged behind the counter and started throwing punch after punch.
At one point, another employee jumped in, but Watson and his dog were relentless.
"He tried to help, but he couldn't. It was too hard," El Sherief said.
He ran outside and tried to close the door, but Watson was on his heels.
While El Sherief was unconscious on the ground, Watson stomped his head three times, then casually strolled back into the restaurant, where police arrested him.
Under a plea deal, Watson will spend 17 years in prison.
"I'm blessed, people around me are so nice. I appreciate every single person, I say thank you," El Sherief said.
As for Watson, El Sherief told Eyewitness News he believes there is time for him to change, that since he was given a second chance at life, Watson should, too.
"For all of us, on this earth, there is a judgment day; all of us will be asked what he did, so he still has a chance," El Sherief said.
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