Victim of brutal Miami Beach hammer attack grateful to be alive

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – The Miami Beach man brutally beaten by a wanted murder suspect is recovering in the hospital, but he has a long road to recovery.

That man, 56-year-old Rizvi Sallay spoke to Local 10 News from his hospital bed.

“I got hit by a stranger and I have a lot of blood,” he said. “I think something wrong with this guy. I have never seen him in my life.”

It’s incredible he can talk after being hit time and time again over the head with a hammer. He’s now surrounded by family in the hospital.

“He’s in terrible condition, he’s asking for me and my mom,” said Dan Sallay, Rizvi’s son.

Rizvi Sallay was brutally attacked with a hammer on Friday night while doing laundry in his Miami Beach apartment.

Christopher Keeley is wanted in Massachusetts for a double murder and he is now suspected on what can only be described and a bloody disturbing and vicious attack on Sallay.

“He hit me without any reason,” Rizvi Sallay said. “I don’t know why he hit me.”

Miami Beach police caught Keeley, who they found shortly after the attack.

“I was lucky, I thought I was dead,” said Rizvi Sallay. “I thought I was finished.”

Sallay’s son had a message for the attacker.

“He’s a coward,” said Danuska Sallay. “He needs to pay for his sins. My dad didn’t deserve this. He’s a monster. His keys should be thrown away.”

But even with such pain, there is hope.

The Miami Beach community has truly rallied around the family since Local 10 first aired their story on Monday.

“To see my phone with the GoFundMe, that’s constantly ringing, (with people) saying they they prayed for my family, I have received so much warmth from the community,” said Danuska Sallay.

To view the GoFundMe page created to help the Sallay family with medical expenses, click here.