A 53-year-old Hairstylist recovered at Cedars Sinai Medical Center Tuesday nearly two weeks after he was seriously injured in West Hollywood as West Hollywood Sheriff’s detectives and Albert Vasquez's family tried to figure out what happened.
“He’s not a violent guy at all, and we’re like in shock,” Gloria Jimenez, Vasquez’s sister, said.
Jimenez said her brother stopped by at a few bars in West Hollywood’s Rainbow District on April 5. Then at around 11 p.m., he was found bleeding and unconscious near Heart, a gay nightclub, on Santa Monica Boulevard.
Jimenez said she and her family didn’t even learn of the incident until days later when a friend called her brother on the phone. A nurse, who answered the phone, said that hospital staffers needed to talk to his family.
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At this point, Vasquez can barely communicate, and all he’s been able to say so far is he was attacked, according to Jimenez.
“It’s just been horrible more than anything, just not knowing what happened.” the sister said. “How did he even come about all this?”
After he arrived at the hospital, doctors removed part of his scalp.
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“His scalp was actually fractured in two spots. [That] is what we are told,” Jimenez said.
The Sheriff’s Department said investigators are still trying to figure out what happened and whether a crime was committed.
“We want anybody who knows anything to cooperate,” Jimenez said. “We know someone saw something.”
The nightclub, which has cameras surrounding the property, posted on Instagram Monday, saying in part, “We have provided the authorities with unrestricted access to our security camera footage.”
Investigators said they asked the nightclub not to release their footage publicly so they don’t jeopardize the investigation.
As the family and friends wait for answers, they sit by Vasquez's bedside watching him heal.
Thankfully they think he will make a full recovery.
“He’s very resilient, and he’s very positive," Jimenez said. "He’s got a lot of positive support so we see him recovering."
If anyone has information that may help investigators you are asked to get in contact with the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Department.
