VIDEO: Man Found Nailed To A Tree In New Mexico

Video emerged Monday of paramedics working to rescue a man nailed to a tree in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Jose Duran was found nailed to the tree crucifix-style in May, still conscious but in excruciating pain, according to video obtained by local news outlet KRQE-TV.

Duran was first located in the forest by a city worker who happened upon him. The employee then called police, who notified paramedics. It appeared someone had attached Duran to the tree with three inch long nails.

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“He kept yelling, ‘Help, Help!’” the city worker told police, according to KRQE. “So I came and I saw him and I kind of freaked out because I didn’t know if there was any other guys around.”

More than 12 emergency workers helped to get Duran down. The video showed him initially attached to the tree before he was led away in bandages, able to walk on his own.

Police had not yet identified any suspects in the crime. Duran, who initially refused to tell police his name, said two men came after him because he was involved in a real estate deal gone wrong. In another interview with police, however, the man said the Ku Klux Klan was after him and he had been attacked before, according to KOB-TV.

“Two people grab me and they pulled me to the trees,” he told police at the hospital. “They said they were going to kill me. They identified themselves as KKK. Jesus gave me another chance to live.”

Duran reportedly told police it was the third time he’d been attacked by members of the KKK, according to KOB.

“They took away a lot of papers. All the papers from the court they took,” he also told police. “They had guns. One said to the other, ‘kill him already,’ and the other said, ‘No, we’ve got to do it away from here.’”

Police said they did not think the incident was retribution for a crime or related to cartel activity, KRQE reported. Duran did not have a prior criminal record but online searches backed up his claim of a court battle regarding a real estate issue.

Residents told reporters the area where the incident occurred was a peaceful, safe area.

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“I am pretty surprised,” a local man, Richard Rubio, told KRQE. “I come out here quite regularly, two to three times a week, and I have never seen anything like that. I am going to continue to come here. I don’t feel any danger or harm at all.”

Police were still seeking suspects in the crime and asked anyone with information to call the Albuquerque Police Department.