Suspect arrested after staffer for Sen. Rand Paul stabbed in DC

By Rashard Rose, CNN

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said a stabbing attack for one of his staffers over the weekend in Washington, DC “was life threatening, but he will recover.”

The staffer told police that on March 25, just after 5 p.m. ET, he was attacked after he and his friend left a Mexican restaurant in the 1300 block of H Street NE, according to court records.

Paul released a statement on the stabbing on Monday, and Paul described his staffer in an interview Tuesday as “a strong, athletic young man.”

“He is going to recover. He’s been through a lot,” Paul said, appearing on Fox News’ “Hannity.” “He is not completely beyond all of the problems from this attack. It was life threatening, but he will recover. He is in good spirits. I talked to him. It’s going to take time. But we all are just hoping the best and hoping he gets better as soon as he can.”

The staffer suffered a puncture to the left lung, a laceration to the left ear, and “a puncture wound to the left side of his head, which penetrated the skull and likely caused an internal brain bleed,” according to court documents.

The friend told police that the attacker “jumped at them from behind a wall” and jumped on top of the staffer, court records state.

A witness said the attacker started stabbing the staffer multiple times with a knife, according to a police report.

The staffer told police he does not know the alleged attacker and has no idea why he was attacked, according to court records.

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CNN’s Ali Zaslav and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.