An innocent drink at the bar turned into a brutal honky tonk beat down when a Texas man was struck in the head with a 5-foot tree branch.
Adam Mercado and his girlfriend, Taylor Monnet, were meeting friends at City Tavern in downtown Dallas last Friday when Adam noticed a man holding a branch, he later explained in a YouTube post. Mercado remembered the man had carved the branch into a spear, approximately 5 feet long. Despite this, he continued to relish the quality time with his group on the bar's front patio.
Indeed, Mercado found it strange to see a random man in public whittling a giant spear. However, the unsuspecting Texas citizen decided to throw caution to the wind.
"Initially, my senses were going crazy, my intuition was going crazy, so I said, you know what, let's go inside and get a drink," Mercado recalled to NBC Dallas Fort Worth.
However, around 2 a.m., the couple decided to call it a night and bid farewell to friends just as a man meandered by on the sidewalk. The suspect wound up before delivering an ear-cracking headshot to Mercado, sending him to the pavement.
"The sheer force of the swing was enough to shatter said branch in half, sending shards of splinters onto those nearby," Mercado explained in his YouTube post. "The thunderous sound was so loud it truly resembled a gunshot, sending a shockwave of panic across the patio patrons."
The branch-wielding man casually turned to a bar employee near the entrance. Without missing a beat, he delivered an unsolicited face punch. The bar employee joined Mercado, slumped on the floor.
"I am grateful and thankful that I'm alive," Mercado said after being attacked with a large branch at a Texas bar. (Image via GoFundMe)
The Brutal Aftermath of the Texas Bar Branch Attack
Following the attack, the violent branch-armed stranger casually walked away from the bar, fading into the street of Dallas, Texas. Meanwhile, Mercado's girlfriend paced frantically between the two injured men before rushing into the bar for help.
"I didn't know what to do in that instance," Monnet admitted to NBC Dallas Fort Worth. "So I'm running into the bar, and I'm screaming, just begging for help from anyone."
Meanwhile, Mercado declined an ambulance ride, citing the cost. However, Mercado visited the hospital a few hours later due to ringing in his head and ears, as well as soreness, feeling the need to get checked out.
Mercado said he has been struggling to leave his apartment since the attack, describing the experience as "very surreal."
"It's just been really traumatic, you know, I've never had any type of violence done unto me," Mercado explained. "I am grateful and thankful that I'm alive, and I hope this never happens again."
Police have failed to identify the suspect.
A GoFundMe campaign for Mercado's medical expenses has garnered over $9,000 to date.
