An American student has opened up about the horror moment he had a brick thrown at his face in broad daylight.
York Danielson, 32, was walking home near Fremantle on Sunday afternoon when he alleges two men dressed in black attempted to snatch his bag off his shoulder.
The student teacher escaped and flagged down a neighbour before he alleges a brick was thrown at him and a scooter sped away from the scene.
Gruesome photos posted online show his blood soaked face and with one black eye swollen shut.
He said he was lucky to have survived the alleged attack after suffering a number of broken facial bones and broken teeth.
“Fortunately my neighbour was there to help me out, or I might not have survived,” he said in a post shared to fundraising website GoFundMe.
The terrifying ordeal had him running through the streets of Fremantle for a number of blocks and through a pedestrian underpass to escape the alleged thieves, he claimed.
“I thought I’d lost them so I stopped to talk to a neighbour about what had happened,” he said.
“Before I could hardly get a word out to my neighbour they flew by at like 40 on the scooter and threw a brick at my head! Insane!!!”
He has since been released from hospital but is staring down a hefty bill for his stay.
The writer and musician moved to Australia to complete his studies to become a high school teacher but doesn’t have access to Medicare to cover the cost of surgery later this week.
He is appealing to the community to help him raise the $40,000 he will be out of pocket after the incident and tide him over while he is unable to work.
“Hopefully I can get back to teaching as soon as I can,” he wrote on the GoFundMe. “It’s gonna be a crazy story for my students.”
Despite the horrifying incident, Mr Danielson said he has not been scared away from the city and wants to keep living in Fremantle if possible.
“I’m trying to be positive and smile through it!,” he said.
“I still love this city despite all the craziness! It could always be worse right?!”
The incident has been reported to WA police.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrGWcp51jrrZ7zZqroqeelrlwr9GipJ5npah6tMDUnZynrF2dvLS8yK2YpaGjmrFurcWtnKtlkqe2pLeMmqOlnZeasa3FjK2fq6eno3qnvs6mZKybn6TBpr6MoqVmmqKkrqV5w5qwpaGXncFwusSwqmarpKS%2FunuSbXBwb2Car6N%2FxZxsaZ5kZbOigZKdaGxvZJizooKXmw%3D%3D