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No arrest one year after YouTube Shockoe Bottom attack

Posted at 10:34 PM, Jan 06, 2012
and last updated 2012-01-06 22:34:34-05

RICHMOND, VA (WTVR)- It's been nearly a year since a 26-year-old software engineer and his roommate were violently beaten in Shockoe Bottom.

"I believe the case is just dead in the water right now, " said the victim who wants to remain anonymous.

He claims neither ever spoke to their attackers.

"Didn't know the people, it was just a night out on a Thursday and I woke up in the hospital," he said.

The attack was video-taped and posted to u-tube shortly after it happened. The victim says he thinks the whole thing was random in nature but always intended to draw internet attention. And it did. The video went viral. Richmond police began to investigate.

"The police were able to track the IP address of the person who uploaded the video but couldn't say definitively who the person was because there was no password on the router," said the victim.

The victim says that contact was over six months ago. Still there have been no arrests and no named suspects. He says after the incident it took a month before he looked normal and five months for the nerve damage in his face to be repaired.

"When I woke up in the hospital my main concern was how am I going to pay for this," he said.

He's still trying to figure that out. He says he has thousands in dollars in medical debt.  After a year he's almost given up hope that his attackers will ever see justice.

"I'd be very surprised if they're still working on the case," said the victim.