This past Wednesday Night (October 26), Sons Of Azrael guitarist and founding member Tony Lorenzo was shot by an armed robber while walking in Buffalo’s Elmwood Village. As of now, the 25 year old guitarist is paralyzed from the waist down, with a bullet lodged in his spinal column. Doctors have to wait for the swelling to go down before they can remove the bullet.

“The kid asked me, he said, ‘Give me what you got.’ And before I could even get my wallet out, he just shot me,” Lorenzo recalled to Buffalo’s WIVB-TV. Though initial reports said that the guitarist may have known his attacker, both Lorenzo and his mother shot down those reports. Lorenzo also expressed shock his attack came a week after another similar incident near the area. “I’m not going run away from my town. I’m not going to up and move away. I want people on the west side to realize this stuff is happening and to look out for each other,” said Lorenzo.

Lorenzo received a surprise bedside visit from Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, who reportedly assured Lorenzo and family that they will do all they can to catch the attacker. You can watch WIVB-TV’s full report on the incident in the video below. A PayPal account (helpingtony@gmail.com) has also been set up to help pay for Lorenzo’s medical expenses. Our condolences go out to Lorenzo and his family.