Wrightsville Firefighter Chad Wombles’ right hand and left thumb were severed in an unprovoked attack before a police officer fatally shot the attacker

WRIGHTSVILLE, Ga. — A Georgia firefighter is recovering after he was ambushed and severely injured in a sword attack outside a gas station, authorities said.

The incident occurred around midnight on Oct. 27 outside the SideTrack convenience store on East College Street. Wrightsville Police Officer Jay Hood was speaking with his friend, Firefighter Chad Wombles, when a man identified as Diamond Daspin Seltzer, 32, approached them with a sword and began swinging it without warning, according to a GoFundMe created for Wombles.

Wrightsville Police said the attack posed “an immediate and imminent threat” to both men. In defense of himself and Wombles, Officer Hood opened fire, striking the assailant multiple times. Seltzer was taken to a hospital in Dublin, where he later died, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Wombles was transported to a medical facility in a patrol vehicle by a deputy.

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Wombles sustained severe injuries during the assault. The GoFundMe created by friends describes how Wombles’ right hand was completely severed and the thumb of his left hand was also cut off by the sword. The campaign, titled “Help Chad Wombles, a true American hero and friend,” says surgeons were able to reattach Wombles’ right hand, and he now faces months of recovery and therapy as he works to regain full use of it.

“Chad was ambushed by an attacker he had never met while he stood outside of a gas station in his hometown,” organizer Joseph Sumner wrote on the fundraising page. “His attacker approached him from behind bearing a sword with the apparent intent to kill him for no reason whatsoever.”

Wombles, a lifelong Wrightsville firefighter and first responder, is described in the GoFundMe as a man whose “path in life has been one of service to his fellow man.” The post says he’s unable to work as he undergoes treatment and rehabilitation.

The fundraiser also highlights the quick actions of Officer Hood, who “saved Chad’s life by responding and probably also saved the lives of the two store clerks inside the store, which is where the attacker was heading before diverting to assault Chad.”

The GBI said the weapon used was a Wakizashi, a type of short sword traditionally used in Japanese martial arts.

Seltzer’s body will be sent to the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy. Once the investigation is complete, findings will be turned over to the Dublin Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.

As of Oct. 30, the GoFundMe for Wombles had raised more than $30,000, with friends, family and fellow first responders rallying around the man they call “the living embodiment of a true American hometown hero.”

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