Barnes and a friend were exiting a new restaurant on Oct. 17 when they noticed two young males “walking quickly and purposefully toward” them, as Barnes says. The two men then attacked them, but took nothing and said nothing while punching, choking and otherwise pummeling Barnes and his friend. Little did they know, Barnes would document the attack on his blog, and that it would become a national news story. Now, he’s talking with AOL, and has some words for his attackers.
Credit: Joshua Carr (left) / Steve Barnes (right)
Albany Times-Union food critic Steve Barnes is shown the night of an attack outside a restaurant, left, and the following day. Barnes said he thinks there’s a chance the attack was retribution from an angry restaurant owner.
Barnes tells AOL News exclusively that there’s a good deal of speculation that this is more than a rogue attack. “It could have been random, but we’re thinking I was targeted,” Barnes said. One possible scenario among many is that the attack could have been in retaliation to one of Barnes’ restaurant reviews.
