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Michael Schroeder: 2nd Marine Attacked In D.C., Left For Dead

By Leigh Egan
Published on: 14:32 PST, Feb 25, 2016

Another marine was attacked in Washington, D.C., just hours after an Iraq war veteran was attacked outside of a D.C. McDonald’s restaurant.

WUSA reports that Michael Schroeder, 35, was attacked in the Northwest D.C. area on February 12, the same day veteran Marine Chris Marquez was attacked as he left the McDonald’s restaurant on 911 E St., N.W. Authorities believes the incidents are unrelated.

According to Schroeder’s family, the Marine was bashed in the head and robbed, thrown in between two cars in the Glover Park neighborhood, and left for dead as the weather dropped into the teens. A father with his son happened to drive by the area. He spotted Schroeder and called the police for help. According to the Marine’s mother, Diedre Schroeder, “It’s an angel whoever found him and I’m very, very grateful. Michael could’ve died that night.”

Schroeder was treated at George Washington Hospital for a concussion and head fracture. With staples in head and a high fever, it was difficult for Schroeder to speak, but he managed, in a strained voice, to say that he was trying to walk home when the attack occurred.

“I wasn’t trying to find trouble. I was actually just trying to walk home.”

Per a D.C. police report, two officers were sent to the scene after a man called 911 and said he found Schroeder face-down and unresponsive. A surveillance video obtained by authorities shows Schroeder walking down a parking lot at around 1:34 a.m. A little over an hour later, authorities arrived to find Schroeder beaten and bleeding from the back of his head. An ambulance arrived at around 3:47 a.m.

Schroeder told WUSA that he still has his cellphone and identification card, but the cash in his wallet, ranging from around $40 to $60, was stolen. He also said there was no reason at all for the attack.

“It’s hard for me to understand because there would’ve been zero reason for it.”

Schroeder’s twin brother, also a Marine, thinks that the suspects should be charged with attempted murder after hitting his brother in the head and leaving him for dead.

“This will probably go down as an assault or attempted robbery but when you hit somebody in the head and that hard enough to fracture their skull with something harder than a metal or fist, it should be looked at as attempted murder.”

Deidre Schroeder indicated that the attack happened in a nice area and generally safe neighborhood, and that it’s time to bring awareness to unprovoked attacks that seem to keep happening in the D.C. area.

“This isn’t funny. This isn’t a joke. This is a very serious matter and this is in a lovely neighborhood of Washington D.C.”

Chris Marquez suffered a similar attack. He said while he was eating at a McDonald’s restaurant on February 12, a group of unruly teens began taunting him and asking him if he believed in Black Lives Matter. Feeling threatened, Marquez ignored the teens and finished his meal. When he left the restaurant, the teens were waiting outside, and began attacking him. One of the teens hit him in the head so hard that Marquez fell to the ground. The group then allegedly robbed Marquez and ran off.

Two of the suspects involved in the Marquez attacks were arrested earlier this week. The suspects, both 17, face charges of aggravated assault and robbery. Police are still looking for a third suspect.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page is set up for Michael Schroeder, an Operation Iraqi Freedom Marine, to help the family out with mounting medical costs. Any money unused for medical expenses will go to the veteran non-profit organization Recon and Sniper Foundation.

[Photo by GoFundMe]

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