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Edgecombe sheriff's office investigating machete attack as a hate crime

A man with a machete waited behind an Edgecombe County home Friday morning, then attacked a couple when they ventured out.

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By
Indira Eskieva
, WRAL Eastern North Carolina reporter
MACCLESFIELD, N.C. — A man with a machete waited behind an Edgecombe County home Friday morning, then attacked a couple when they ventured out.

"By the time I got turned out around, he's on top of me with a machete drawn back way over his head," the homeowner said.

According to the sheriff's office, Carlos Antonio Washington, 36, of Tarboro, slashed the man then fled in his vehicle after the homeowner's wife fired a gun at him.

The victim, who said he's afraid he will be targeted again, has lived and worked in southern Edgecombe County all his life.

"I can't sleep at night very well. It's just so crazy that it happened to me, you know," he said.

Although he was hit by the machete three times, the man's injuries were minor.

The victim's son said his father and stepmother had never met Washington. The sheriff's office on Monday said it was investigating Washington's alleged acts as a hate crime.

Deputies arrested Washington and recovered his vehicle.

He was charged with attempted first-degree murder and was being held on $2 million secured bond.

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