UPDATED (11:22 a.m.): Six to eight teens poured out of a minivan
and attacked a hearing- and speech-impaired man with baseball bats
and a knife, police said.
Six to eight teens poured out of a minivan and attacked a hearing- and speech-impaired man with baseball bats and a knife, police said.
The man, 27, was walking alone on West Ninth Street back home from a liquor store at the intersection of Monterey Street about 9:35 p.m. Tuesday, police said. A green or dark-colored minivan pulled up near him, and six to eight Hispanic males between 16 and 18 years old attacked him.
The assailants punched and kicked the man and hit him with baseball bats, and one of the suspects stabbed the man once in the torso with a large switch-blade knife before they all took off in the minivan. Police suspect the attack was gang related because most of the assailants wore blue clothing indicative of the Sureño street gang and appeared to attack the man wearing “some red clothing,” though police said the victim did not appear to have any gang connections.
Police responded quickly to the area, and found the man nearby, police said. Emergency responders took the man to a nearby hospital, where he remains in intensive care, though he is expected to recover, Sgt. Jim Gillio said late Wednesday morning.
Police did not find any weapons at the scene of the crime, and did not specify if they had any witnesses.
Anyone with information can contact the Gilroy Police Department at 846-0350 or leave an anonymous tip at (800) 78-Crime.
