While hiking at Great Falls Park, Christopher Barnard, vice president of the American Conservation Coalition, encountered Philip Todd some years ago. They hit it off after learning they had similar political and religious views and a love of the outdoors.
On March 25, 2023, in Washington, D.C., Glynn Neal stabbed Philip Todd four times, resulting in a perforated lung and perhaps cerebral hemorrhage. Todd is an assistant to Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul.
Christopher Barnard, Todd’s friend, was there to help.
The incident occurred between Todd’s church service and Barnard’s apartment social event. Barnard said It all happened so quickly that he didn’t have time to be scared.
As Neal tried to take Todd down, Barnard tackled him. Then, he quickly grabbed Todd and said they had to go, and they raced till they thought they were safe, Todd’s head still bleeding.
Barnard remembered Todd asking, “Chris, please pray for me” while being laid down on the sidewalk, and his wounds attended to. Barnard said he knelt and prayed on the sidewalk while cradling Todd’s head. He was eventually rushed to the hospital, where he had emergency surgery.
Barnard tweeted that Todd’s “quite amazing” recovery had resulted in his early departure from the hospital. Less than a week after sustaining a skull fracture and brain hemorrhage, he is doing very well, according to his physicians.
Neal was taken into custody after the incident and charged with attempted murder. After serving 12 years in jail for offenses including pandering and threatening to kidnap, he was freed the day before the assault.
Neal was supposed to check in with a federal agency two days after the event to establish a five-year post-incarceration monitoring plan.
The stabbing followed rising public anxiety about safety in the nation’s capital. Barnard claimed the event had led to his wife permanently keeping a key between her knuckles.
Barnard said that D.C. authorities should implement measures to keep criminals like Neal off the city’s streets.
Like other blue cities, the District of Columbia has been leaning toward a more lenient stance on crime, with a recent proposal to reduce carjacking penalties being blocked by Congress.
It’s been reported that a 1% increase in violent crime has swept the District of Columbia over the previous year, with murders increasing by 23%.
