Davis police release video of downtown assault; 1 of 2 victims badly injured in ‘brutal’ attack
Davis police on Thursday released video that showed a group of unknown suspects who attacked two people last week in the middle of a downtown street, seriously injuring one of the victims.
The attack occurred about 11:40 p.m. last Friday near the intersection of Second and F streets, according to the Davis Police Department. The suspects approached the two victims and assaulted them.
A security camera from a nearby business captured the assault. Police said one of the victims was “severely” injured in the attack and unable to provide needed information.
The video was given to police, but the video footage is not clear enough to help investigators identify the six assault suspects. Police said the suspects were wearing hooded sweatshirts and some, if not all of them, had masks on; that description is consistent with the statement of one of the victims to investigators.
“Investigators have not yet connected the suspects to the victims, who were walking down the street when confronted,” Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said Thursday in a Facebook post. “And, at this point, no clear motive has been identified to determine why this incident took place. The victims and suspects came from two different directions, and it is not yet known if they had engaged earlier in the evening.”
Detectives have questioned people who provided information regarding the victims’ whereabouts throughout that evening last week. Police said investigators had not yet found witnesses or videos that would be helpful in determining where the suspects came from or how they left the area, other than they were last seen running away and heading west on Second Street.
Multiple people helped the victims shortly after the attack occurred, according to the Police Department. Investigators are asking anyone who was in the downtown area between 11 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. that night and saw the suspects to speak to police.
The Police Department also is asking all downtown Davis businesses to check their security camera video footage to see if the suspects were spotted anywhere else.
“This was a particularly brutal crime and finding those responsible, and holding them accountable, is of the utmost importance,” Pytel said in the Facebook post.
Investigators asked anyone who witnessed this assault or has video of the attack to call the Police Department at 530-747-5400 or send an email to policeweb@cityofdavis.org.
