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Man Survives Attack With Hammer At Metro Station, Subdues Suspects

NORTH HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA.com) — A North Hollywood man not only survived a beating with a hammer during an attempted robbery at a Metro station, he subdued the two suspects until police arrived.

The attack occurred at a Red Line Metro station at Lankershim and Chandler boulevards early Sunday morning.

"I have 11 staples in my head from two gashes," the victim, Dante, described. "I have a fractured thumb. I'm just glad I'm alive, because they were trying to kill me, literally."

Dante was sitting in the station's plaza around 6 a.m. Sunday, waiting for a pickup, when two men approached him, apparently wanting to pick a fight.

One of the man then reportedly pulled out a hammer and struck Dante in the head before grabbing his laptop computer.

Despite the damage from the attack, Dante was able to chase down his attackers and fight back. With the help of a good Samaritan, he was able to hold them down until police arrived.

"I didn't know that my head was busted open at the time until I got to the hospital," Dante said.

Both of Dante's attackers, who went to the hospital with injuries of their own, were arrested.

Dante, meanwhile, worries for people who rely on the Metro for transportation.

"My sister takes the train; my little cousins take the train. It could have been anybody."

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