Homeless man assaulted during robbery attempt in downtown Sacramento, police say

A homeless man in his 30s was assaulted in downtown Sacramento over the weekend by two unknown assailants, Sacramento police said Monday.

The man was seen walking in the area of Ninth Street and Kayak Alley early Sunday, with injuries to his face and a cut on his forearm, said Sgt. Vance Chandler, spokesman for the Police Department.

A passer-by called 911 at 8:04 a.m. and an officer found the man minutes later. He told officers that he’d been attacked by two men three hours earlier who tried to rob him of his belongings, one of them wielding a weapon that cut his arm, Chandler said. Investigators do not know what kind of weapon was used, he said.

The suspects are believed to also be transients, said Capt. Norm Leong, who oversees police in downtown.

Fire personnel arrived and transported the man to a local hospital with non life-threatening injuries, Chandler said.

The attack occurred in an area of downtown that experienced an uptick in crime reports in October. At the time, officers reported a higher frequency of disturbance, assault and drug activity calls, many of which were suspected to be related to transient activity in the area, police said.

Since then, “we’ve been saturating that area” with more officers, Leong said. Crime activity has decreased since October, he said.