Two people are wanted for attacking four people with a baseball bat and leaving them hospitalized in Oceanside on Saturday, Oceanside Police said.
Police say they’re responsible for hospitalizing four people in at least two separate attacks at Oceanside Harbor.
“I heard a clang when the bat made contact with the head,” said a man NBC 7 is calling “Peter." He did not want to be identified due to his safety.
Just before 9 p.m. Saturday, he said he'd just gone to his car to get something when he saw a man masked in a bandana attack someone near the bathrooms on the 1400 block of North Harbor Drive.
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“I see a crowd of people and a gentleman with a bandana and a backward hat and metal bat, and see him swing and hit a person in the head. Then people started running,” Peter said.
Though stunned by what he saw, Peter says his instincts from emergency training kicked in, so he offered to help first responders.
“From becoming medically trained, I knew what was happening at the moment and I know what could possibly happen,” Peter said. That fear he explained was the possibility of them passing away.
Police said two people were injured in the initial attack and later found two other people hospitalized in a separate, but similar baseball bat attack by the same suspects.
At least two of the assaults happened just a few hundred feet from the Oceanside Harbor Headquarters, where a security car is parked.
Despite the weekend violence, harbor regulars NBC 7 spoke to had mixed feelings about what happened.
“I do get anxious and fearful, but there’s a verse I always go to,” said Fredy Murray. “'Be anxious for nothing but in all things with thanksgiving let your request be known to God and a piece of God will guard your hearts and minds in Jesus.'"
“It seems like there is a degradation of society,” said Jim Haggerty. “There's a lot of people willing to be aggressive against people they don't know. It makes no sense."
Peter sees the brutal assault as a wake-up call, for not only better situational awareness, but the pain some people can cause.
“I hope they get caught and put to justice because no one should be going through anything they put that person through."
Oceanside Police said all the victims suffered significant injuries, including head lacerations and one with a facial fracture.
They said even though they've located the suspect's vehicle, they're still hoping to get information that will help bring them to justice.
Oceanside Police Department’s Crimes of Violence Unit is asking anyone with information regarding this incident to please contact Detective Sergeant Dave Estrada at (760) 435-4698.
