The community is rallying around a York County native and his family after he was beaten and robbed in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
Kevin Guin, 33, was attacked by a man in New Orleans Sept. 14 after he left a bar around 11 p.m. to head back to his hotel room, according to police. His brother, Jason Guin, was also at the bar, and believes his brother may have taken a wrong turn down Dumaine Street.
Police initially believed the 33-year-old was attacked with a baseball bat, but now think it may have been a different, short, blunt object, said Beau Tidwell, communications director for the New Orleans Police Department.
After emergency surgery, 51 staples in his head, a week in the intensive care unit and a long road to recovery, Virginians and Louisianans are donating thousands of dollars to Kevin Guin’s family through a GoFundMe page.
Created by a family friend, the page had raised $15,240 of its $20,000 goal by 1 p.m. Friday. The GoFundMe will help offset medical costs, Jason Guin said.
“GoFundMe is doing great and I can’t thank everyone enough for their generosity,” Jason Guin said. “Even people from New Orleans that have no ties to us are contributing.”
Both Kevin and Jason Guin are from York County. Kevin Guin lived in York County most of his life until he married his wife and bought a house in Chesapeake a couple years ago.
The two brothers work as longshoremen in eastern Virginia, unloading cargo ships at various terminals, Jason Guin said. Because of their job, many people in coastal Virginia communities know them.
Kevin Guin is now recovering at a physical therapy facility in New Orleans, but still has a long road ahead of him, Jason Guin said. He is expected to be in physical therapy for three to six weeks.
A GoFundMe page update Thursday states Kevin Guin was “still in a tremendous amount of pain” and his brain was still swollen, but he was improving.
Kevin Guin’s wife just got back from visiting with her husband in New Orleans, but hopes to visit her husband again during his recovery, Jason Guin said.
New Orleans Police have not yet found the man responsible, but Jason Guin said police have surveillance footage of the attack. He also said there are people who witnessed it.
New Orleans Police told WYDaily on Friday that the attack may have followed a verbal altercation between Guin and the man suspected in the attack. An image released by police shows the alleged attacker on a light-colored bicycle.
Police believe the two men got into a physical altercation, in which the bicyclist hit Kevin Guin with a short, blunt object.
A passerby flagged down officers in the 500 block of Dumaine Street, stating they saw the man leaning over Kevin Guin on the ground going through his pockets, according to police.
Police said they believe this is an isolated incident that is not connected to a larger string of attacks. Although police have not found the person responsible, the Guin family has received “tons” of support.
“Got tons of messages and support from everyone, so he definitely is loved,” Jason Guin said.
See the GoFundMe page here.
