Fortitude Valley assault victim: Shannon Finemore fights for life
A man who was stuck in the head and knocked to the concrete in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley remains on life support in hospital.
Police & Courts
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A man who was punched and knocked to the ground in a terrifying Fortitude Valley assault on Melbourne Cup Day remains on life support in a critical condition in hospital.
Shannon James Finemore was punched in the face and knocked to the concrete during a fight about 8.45pm on Tuesday, as horrified onlookers watched from their balconies above.
Shannon James Finemore critically injured in Fortitude Valley assault
Two men have been charged over the incident.
The 37-year-old was reportedly not breathing when paramedics arrived to the scene on Trinity St.
Mr Finemore was stabilised on the side of the road before he was rushed to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in a critical condition.
Three days on from the incident, Mr Finermore, who has a serious brain injury and remains in a critical condition, is still fighting for his life.
Mr Finemore recently posted to social media about a barbecue fundraiser he was organising
to raise money to support Aussie men fighting for life.
“So I’m having a BBQ to raise money for prostate cancer. Anyone wanting to come or help let me know,” he wrote.
Mr Finemore set his goal to $500, with the picture accompanying the post stating: “Savour life. Save a life.”
As Mr Finemore lay in hospital on Wednesday- his prognosis still murky- Fortitude Valley residents told The Courier-Mail they recalled hearing the fight on the street before the area filled with emergency services.
Tristian Andre, who lives several storeys above where the attack took place, said he was unsure what the fight was about, but recalled hearing a woman’s begging screams.
“The lady was yelling ‘stop it, stop it, stop it,’ Mr Andre said.
“They were arguing … lots of yelling for about 10 minutes … (then) you see one person lunge forward, it looked like a punch.”
According to court documents, at the time of the incident, Mr Finemore was with his mate Scott Joseph McGillivery.
Social media accounts show the pair have been friends for at least nine years.
Loretta, who did not wish to provide her surname, said she heard the four men “egging each other on.” on Tuesday night.
“They were just very agro, pushing and shoving each other,” Loretta said.
“One of the guys yelled ‘hit me, hit me, hit me,’ then next thing we just saw him go in to punch him and heard the loud ‘bang’ on the cement. We saw him get punched and he just went down, it was a very loud noise.
“They were egging each other on. We just knew something was going to happen but we didn’t know it was going to get that bad.”
Police allege Mr Finemore and Mr McGillivery were walking along Water St when the pair engaged in a verbal argument with Harley James Raithby Hoodless, 29, and Michael Trevor Royce Collins, 28.
Hoodless and Collins were on one of the nearby balconies above, according to police.
It’s alleged Hoodless and Collins – who was allegedly armed with a crow bar- came down onto the street where they met Mr Finemore and Mr McGillivery.
Police allege Hoodless struck Mr Finemore in the face, knocking him to the ground where he reportedly lay unconscious and without breath.
According to police, the alleged offenders fled the scene and hid in nearby bushes while Mr McGillivery and onlookers called for help for Mr Finemore.
They were taken into police custody a short time later.
Harley James Raithby Hoodless was charged with one count of grievous bodily harm.
He had his matter mentioned in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday where he did not apply for bail.
His co-accused, Michael Trevor Royce Collins, was charged with two counts of common assault and one count of going armed to cause fear.
He did not use the crowbar in the fight and was on Wednesday released from the watch-house on bail, where he told reporters he would dispute the charges.
“They should have kept their f**king mouth shut,” he said when asked about the incident.
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