Machete attack leaves homeless shelter worker with ‘extensive’ skull damage, sister says
A Georgia man has a long road to recovery after he was “brutally attacked” by a man outside the homeless shelter where he works, his sister said.
Chris Sullens, 53, suffered “extensive” skull damage that left him struggling to speak, and he lost his left eye after the June 20 assault in Athens, according to Teresa Sullens-Baker.
“He’s precious,” she told WSB-TV of her brother. “Everybody at work loved him. As far as I know, a lot of people in the community, in the homeless community, loved him.”
Sullens, an employee at the Advantage Homeless Day Service Center, was at work when a man attacked him with a machete, Athens-Clarke County Police said in a news release.
Officers arrived at about 4:10 p.m. and found him with serious injuries to his face and head, police said.
Sullens was taken to a hospital and later flown to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, where he’s recovering, the Athens Banner-Herald reported.
“Our thoughts are with our colleague and their family during this difficult time,” a spokesperson for Advantage Behavioral Health Systems told the newspaper in a statement. “The safety and well being of our employees and clients is our utmost priority.”
The suspect, 33-year-old Cedric Smith, was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, aggravated battery and possession of a weapon in the commission of a crime, according to authorities.
Sullens’ sister said her brother was attacked by a client at the day center, according to WAGA. Her brother confronted Smith earlier that day after he reportedly had alcohol on the property, which is against the rules, she told the outlet.
“You’re supposed to get a two-week ban ... the guy said he was sorry and said he won’t do it again … apparently (he) went to the woods and then sat and waited for my brother to go to his car and attacked him,” Sullens-Baker told WAGA.
She added that Sullens’ co-workers “all put their lives in danger” to help him when they saw what was happening, according to WSB-TV.
Despite their quick action, the assault left her brother with “part of his skull ... lodged in his brain,” she wrote on a GoFundMe page launched on his behalf.
Smith was out on parole when he assaulted Sullens outside the day center, WSB-TV reported, citing court records. He previously served four years in prison after authorities said he cut someone with a razor blade.
He remained in custody at the Athens-Clarke County Jail without bond as of June 25, online records show.
In an update on June 25, Sullens-Baker said her brother had his fourth and “hopefully final” surgery on Monday and is making progress in his recovery.
“We feel so immensely blessed,” she wrote. “And then there’s the outpouring of love and support from all of you! I could never in my life imagine how so much beauty could come from such a horrific tragedy.”
Athens is about a 70-mile drive northeast from downtown Atlanta.
This story was originally published June 25, 2024 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Machete attack leaves homeless shelter worker with ‘extensive’ skull damage, sister says."