Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Anthony Pernell Collins, Jr., 25, was arrested yesterday after allegedly attacking another homeless man with a thick broomstick and a sharp, shiny object, requiring the victim to get 10 stitches.
At about 5:30 p.m. on April 28, Collins allegedly approached the victim, who was inside a tent in the 900 block of NE 31st Avenue, near the Highland Estates neighborhood. Collins reportedly told the victim it was a “hit tent” and the victim needed to leave immediately. As the victim left the tent, Collins allegedly hit the victim with a thick broomstick handle, leaving the victim dazed. The victim told a responding Gainesville Police Department officer that he looked up and saw Collins swinging a sharp silver object that “glistened in the light,” and when he put up his hand to block the strike, his hand was cut…