Tony Lorenzo, founding member and guitarist of Sons of Azrael, was shot during a robbery last Wednesday in Buffalo, New York, and now he may never be able to walk again in his life. The twenty-five year old is paralyzed from the chest down, and currently still has the bullet lodged in his spinal column. Doctors have to wait for the swelling to subside before they can remove the bullet.
"The kid asked me, he said, 'Give me what you got.' And before I could even get my wallet out, he just shot me," Tony told WIVB. "I was robbed. I can't feel my legs right now."
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown visited Tony in the hospital where he personally vowed to "spare no expense" in finding the death metal musician's attacker. The robbery came just a week after another similar incident in the same area.
"Him and I were just walking to a friend's house, and it was just a complete random hit, came from behind, never saw it coming," said Tony's friend Alex Artemas who was also there during the robbery.
An initial report said that the Sons of Azrael guitarist knew his attacker, but both Tony and his mother said those claims were false, and that Tony had no idea who his attacker was or why he was targeted:
"He absolutely did not know his attacker, and I want that cleared," said Tony's mom Caroline Bronckers.
"I'm not a gang banger. I'm not someone who owes anyone money. I don't start beefs. I'm just a normal guy, you know? I work at Pano's Restaurant," Tony told WIVB.
A PayPal account has been set up to help with medical expenses at [email protected]. This is truly a sad story, and we, at Metal Injection, keep Tony and his family in our thoughts, and we wish him well to a speedy and full recovery.
[via Metal Insider]
