Police Investigating 2 Boyle Heights Hammer Attacks
BOYLE HEIGHTS (CBSLA.com) — Police Wednesday asked for the public's help in their investigation of recent hammer attacks in Boyle Heights that left two injured.
In both apparently unprovoked assaults, the victims were struck in the head with a hammer, according to detectives at the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollenbeck Division.
Suspect descriptions varied in both crimes, but investigators could not be reached to say whether they believe there is more than one attacker.
The most recent assault took place around 6:25 a.m. July 21 near the intersection of Savannah and New Jersey streets.
Police said the victim was walking his dog on the east sidewalk of Savannah Street when the suspect approached from the rear and hit him in the back of the head with a hammer.
The victim, whose name was withheld, ran to his home before being taken to a local hospital for treatment.
He was unable to provide a description of the suspect, but a witness said the assailant was a white man with long brown hair, wearing a black baseball cap, a gray flannel shirt, and carrying a backpack.
The other attack happened around 7:35 a.m. July 9 near the intersection of South Grande Vista and Union Pacific avenues.
Police said the suspect was seen rummaging through the victim's belongings under a bridge overcrossing in that area on the west sidewalk of Grande Vista.
Police said the suspect struck the victim on the head several times with a hammer before the person lost consciousness, police said. The victim, whose name was not released, was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
The suspect in the earlier assault was described to police as a Hispanic man, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing around 160 pounds.
Police said he is believed to be between 40 and 45 years old, and was wearing a yellow and blue striped shirt.
Police are investigating any connections between the two Boyle Heights hammer attacks and two hammer attacks in East LA March 25, the LA Times reported.
The LA County Board of Supervisors renewed a $15,000 reward late last month in the hopes of finding a man who attacked two people with a hammer in East Los Angeles.
Anyone with information on the attacks was asked to call detectives at (323) 342-8900.
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