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A South Side family that knows all too well the heartbreak of violence is now facing questions after a violent attack in a restaurant they own.
It happened Saturday night in the South Shore neighborhood in a lounge owned by the family of Hadiya Pendleton, the 15-year-old girl whose murder in 2013 sparked national outrage.
"He is lying up with two black eyes, stitched up head, a neck brace. He was out for over 15 hours,” said the victim’s grandmother, Theresa Brown.
Friends and family say it's horribly ironic that 32-year-old Bud Clarke was badly beaten while visiting the New Look Lounge in the South Shore neighborhood Saturday night. That’s because the soul food restaurant and bar was opened by the family of the late Hadiya Pendleton to honor the memory of the 15-year-old girl gunned down near her school four years ago - a shooting that shocked Chicago and the nation.
"This restaurant is here primarily to serve this community in a positive way. There's not much around that you can go to, sit down and actually have a nice meal,” said Hadiya’s uncle, Ted Pendleton.
Hadiya's uncle says Clarke came in Saturday night and bought a round of drinks. Witnesses say he got into some sort of altercation with Nate Pendleton, Hadiya's father. After being asked to leave they say the doorman hit Clarke with a chair from behind.
"So Buddy rushed to grab him like this, and that's when I seen the bartender hop up on top of the bar with a big old wooden bat and he whacked Buddy in the back of the head, and Buddy hit the floor face first,” said Almisa Brown.
They say Clarke was on the floor bleeding for some time before the restaurant called 911.
Nate Pendleton told FOX 32 by phone the following: "I try extremely hard to stay away from violence... I really regret what happened, because this is not what this place is for."
But he and his brother both say Clarke’s beating was defensive and justified.
"We're really against violence. I think that’s been my family's motto for several years, especially since my niece’s death,” Ted Pendleton said.
"I can't believe you would have such disdain for another human life. Considering the situation that you and your family faced,” Theresa Brown said.
Police responded after the beating and took reports, but so far no charges have been filed.
Clarke remains hospitalized at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. His godmother told FOX 32 he has retained an attorney to investigate his case.