The Dark Horse of Philly: Eugene Aubry gives an update on shooting
Interview with Eugene Aubry above
Thursday, October 22, was a typical night for “The Suitcase Kid” Eugene Aubry. He was on his way home following a hard day of working out.
“I got off the L at 52nd street. I wanted to go to my favorite restaurant to get my favorite platter.” What would transpire next was the last thing Aubrey could’ve expected.
“It was on 52nd and Spruce,” Aubry was minding his business when out of the shadows he heard, ‘alright run that shit’ – which is basically slang for ‘I’m robbing you’, Aubry clarifies. “All I felt was his hand grabbing me from behind,” he recollects. “I spun out of reaction,” hitting the assailant “with a right hand.” Emphasizing, “I did stumble him pretty good. I didn’t see his gun, it was very dark. He came up and hit me in the neck.”
“What was crazy about it was my legs were the first thing to give out. I tried to move. I crawled a couple feet. And I was weak. But he ran away immediately. He just shot me and he ran,” Aubry remembers. “I stayed awake through the whole thing. As I was bleeding out, blood started squirting out of my throat and stuff.” Thankfully, a concerned resident overheard the commotion outside and “came out of their apartment” to assess the situation. Aubry instinctually started screaming for the man to help. After the man found Aubry unable to move, he “called the police. Police station was there within 3 minutes.”
Aubry was transported and placed in an induced coma at the local hospital while the medics did all they could in the horrid situation. Aubry, being the dedicated, never-say-never type of individual, feels extremely confident in a full recovery. However, the battle-hardened Philadelphian isn’t unrealistic by saying, “the reality is, the extent of my injuries is the bullet went through the front of my neck and out of the back, all the way through and severed my spine. So, there’s a chance that I may never walk again. And if that’s the case and I don’t get a fight, I put so much time in that I just don’t know how I’m gonna feel whole if I can’t do what I like to do,” Aubry sadly confesses.
On his road to recovery, Aubry enthusiastically shared the hurdles he’s already tackled well ahead of the expected time. “I beat the ventilator in a month,” he says with a charismatic demeanor. After finally being able to properly talk as recently as November 30. Continuing, “days later I’m in rehab! And now, I’m actually happy because I’m out of ICU and I’m with some good people that can do everything they can to help me get better.”
If you can, please consider donating to https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-suitcase-kid. All of the money will go toward the medical treatment of Eugene.
Tune in above to hear the full conversation between Eugene “The Suitcase Kid” Aubry known as “The Dark Horse of Philly” and MyMMANews. Eugene was kind enough to set aside time to chat about this horrid tragedy amidst a tough battle of recovery ahead.
The MMA community is notoriously known for backing their warriors when they’re down and out. Below are two character testaments of people within the MMA community that have worked with “The Suitcase Kid” directly, and wish him the best in his recovery.
Mike Bickings – Art of War Promoter: “Just to be clear, we’re not over glorifying someone because they’re hurt. “The Suitcase Kid” is a monster. He holds the fastest KO in Art Of War history. A 14-second flying knee KO over an absolute stud, Jake Kozorosky (3-0 at the time). He (Aubry) has one of the best engines in regional MMA. He eats, sleeps, and breathes MMA life. This is a man who was homeless and rode the subway all night to stay warm. I love our conversations and Eugene is a real dude. We at AOW are here for whatever is next for him. God bless.”
Ryan Cafaro, pro MMA fighter, coach, friend: “He’s (Aubry) just willing to dig deeper than anyone I ever knew. I just feel like, which is why if there’s anyone that can come back from a situation like this, it’s Eugene! This is nothing new to him! If there’s anyone who can come back from the brink, it’s him! His life has always been ‘setback, work my way back up’. Setback, work my way back up’. And he’s always done that. So this is nothing new to us! It’s just another day in the book and I’ll be right back in the lab with him. He’s already started physical therapy at this point.”
