Click Orlando
October 19, 2014
Christopher Byrn’s neck was still swollen 24 hours after he was attacked and robbed of his laptop computer.
The attack happened Wednesday around 8:15 p.m. as he sat waiting for the bus outside 1800 Metrocenter Blvd., which is one block off the campus of Valencia College. He said two men approached him and grabbed the computer off of his lap.
He said when he tried to run after them, a third man jumped from behind a sign and punched him in the neck.
“The cop said it was the carotid artery,” Byrn said. “He said it doesn’t matter how big you are; you get hit there, you go down. I went down in the bushes. I was down for a couple of minutes.”
A co-worker saw what had happened and jumped in his car to chase the three men, but lost them in the darkness.
Byrn said they also stole his sense of security.
“The entire time I was on my way into work today — I don’t like to admit it — but my hands were shaking the whole time,” he said. “I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get a lift from anybody to get home tonight. I just didn’t want to be there after dark again.”
Orlando police said they are now looking for three black men who were wearing gym-style clothing. One of them was wearing a yellow shirt, according to Byrn. Another was wearing a T-shirt with red vertical stripes on the side.
Anyone with any information on the identity or the whereabouts of the men is asked to contact the Orlando Police Department.