LOUISVILLE, Ky. — An El Paso man has been released from the University of Louisville Hospital following an unprovoked attack downtown earlier this week.
Oscar Sanchez, a facilities manager at the University of Texas at El Paso, was in Louisville attending a conference at Fourth Street Live! when he was attacked, his family says.
According to Louisville Metro Police, video surveillance shows Coats come up behind Sanchez and slash his throat before moving down the street and slashing a second victim's throat. Coats also admitted to the attacks after he was arrested police said.
The second victim's identity is unknown, but police say they were released from the hospital the same day of the attack.
Sanchez's family created a GoFundMe page to help cover the cost of flying to Louisville to be with him and help cover his medical expenses. They received more than $30,000 in donations.
“He had extensive surgery to repair the damage,” the family said, adding that Sanchez will likely spend at least a week in the hospital recovering. “He is very fortunate that his carotid arteries were not hit.”
It is unknown at this time if Sanchez suffered any permanent damage to his vocal cords.
“Oscar is doing better and is expected to make a full recovery,” the family said in a Thursday update. “We will continue to send updates and keep our heads held high while we see this through.”
In a statement from the University of Texas at El Paso, they said Sanchez is a valued member of the Miner family.
"Our sympathies are with him and his family as they face this ordeal, and we wish him a swift and thorough recovery," they said.
Luis Lugo and Michael Junio, two of the three good Samaritans who came to Sanchez's aid, said they're glad he is doing so well.
They visited Sanchez in the hospital on Wednesday.
"He thanked us from the bottom of his heart and told us, he was very appreciative of us jumping up, taking care of him, while there were actually people running away from the situation," Lugo said.
"For us, being in a medical environment, we never get used to get closure, so actually seeing him better off then what he was - he was smiling, he was very glad to see us," Junio said.
The men were in town for the American Association of Laboratory Animal Sciences National Meeting and they are military veterans currently working with Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Maryland.
They learned Sanchez is a veteran himself, and was in town for the very same conference.
Now, they plan on reuniting every year.
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