WARNING:This story contains graphic details.
After being viciously beaten in his own home last week, an Edmonton resident is sharing his story – hoping to help others.
The man is so scared for his well-being, he Global News agreed not to reveal his identity and to refer to him as HR.
On Oct. 24, HR said he was sitting at home and watching TV at around 10 p.m. when he heard a loud bang and stood up to investigate.
“That door caved in and a man holding a metal bar came running towards me,” he said. “I went to grab him and he went to hit me in the head.”
Acting on instinct, he went to shield his face with his arm. The blow was so severe it broke his forearm, popping his bone out. The attack continued from there as another man entered the house.
“They grabbed my arms and they handcuffed me. The handcuffs were really tight on my arms. They hit me in the head a few times. They punched me, kicked me and they put this cloth on top of my face.”
With HR unable to escape, the men started looting his house.
“He was saying things like, ‘We’re going to kill you. You better hurry up and start telling us where your stuff is or we’re going to kill you. You’re dead tonight if we don’t get what we need.'”
Fearing for his life, HR said he cooperated. The thieves took his TV, iPad, cellphone, wallet and car.
But before they left, they used TV cables to tie HR’s ankles to the handcuffs.
“I was crying, I was calling my parents’ names. I was calling my friend’s name. Obviously nobody could hear me.”
HR lives alone in an isolated area in northeast Edmonton.
For more than an hour, he fought against his restraints, eventually freeing his legs.
Without a vehicle, and because of his rural location, he was forced to walk about a kilometre-and-a-half to his neighbour’s home to get help.
He was covered in blood and losing feeling in his arms.
“The pain was just unbearable.”
HR said it was dark and cold, and he walked through the ditch fearing the criminals might return.
“I got to the acreage and I banged my head on the window a few times. No one came so I started banging again,” he recalled.
“A few guys woke up and they looked at me through the window. When they saw me, they locked the door. Then they opened the window and said, ‘What’s wrong?’ and I said, ‘I need help, I’ve just been burgled, I need help, please help me!’”
After they called 911, HR was taken to hospital. He stayed there for three days, needing surgery for a compound fracture in his right forearm and a CAT scan on his head.
He considers himself lucky to have survived the ordeal.
In hindsight, he thinks the robbers must have been waiting for him when he came home.
“Anybody that lives out in a rural area, please check if there’s anything unusual,” he said.
“If you feel it’s unsecure, if you feel there’s something unusual, don’t go into your house. Call the police straight away.”
Edmonton Police Service spokesperson Scott Pattison said they don’t have any suspects at this time, but their investigation is ongoing.
He added it’s a possibility in any armed break and enter that the criminals targeted the wrong house.
It’s been nearly a week, and HR’s car has not been found and he has not returned to the house.
“I can’t live there anymore because of the trauma I’m going to go through.”
He said he has trouble sleeping since the attack.
“Every time a leaf falls, I feel like there’s someone outside.”
HR came to Canada from the United Kingdom nine years ago and has been working as a truck driver. With his cast, he’s now unable to work.
Still, he’s trying to be positive.
“I have to move on if I want to live my life as a normal human being.”
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