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Police Arrest Suspect in Brutal Machete Attack at New Jersey Chicken Restaurant

Police Arrest Suspect in Brutal Machete Attack at New Jersey Chicken Restaurant

Police said they've arrested the suspect captured on video using a machete in an attack at a New Jersey chicken restaurant.

The arrest came just five days after police in Paterson, N.J. posted the violent footage on Facebook in the hopes of getting a lead on the perpetrator. Two other suspects in the attack had already been arrested.

According to police, the trio attacked two victims in separate incidents at the U.S. Chicken Restaurant September 10.

"Both attacks were unprovoked, as far as we could see. Nothing was taken in the second attack,” Paterson Police Capt. Heriberto Rodriguez told CBS New York.

Content warning -- graphic images

CBS reported:

In the first case, the victim, seen on the video wearing a white shirt with a black insignia on the top left corner, was attempting to walk out of the restaurant when he was confronted by two men in the doorway. While they talk, police say Omar Villota, 22, comes up behind him and pistol whips him in the back of the head. The trio tumble into the street.

Then things get worse.

A few minutes later, the group comes tumbling back into the restaurant, this time struggling with a second victim. The second victim is seen on tape being repeatedly punched in the face, allegedly by 20-year-old Johel Gomez. Police said Tyree Seegers, 22, then started hacking at the second victim with a machete.

According to police, Seegers is seen on the tape hacking at the victim at least 14 times with the machete. During one of his swings, he chops into Villota, who is continually pistol-whipping the victim. Seegers nearly severs Villota’s right arm, leaving a blood trail that the cops used to track them down.

Police said Seegers turned himself in Wednesday morning after the video was posted online.

“We turned to Facebook for help," Rodriguez said. "Seegers turned himself in because he felt all this pressure from everywhere.”

Police are still looking for the first victim. The second victim survived, only because Seegers was inept with the machete.

“The one time he swung it straight and effectively, he hit his own counterpart, his own friend,” Rodriguez said.

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