Another Bat Attack at Lake Phalen

4 thugs attack man near Lake Phalen
By Mara H. Gottfried
mgottfried@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 03/03/2009 03:47:49 PM CST


St. Paul police are investigating an attack of a man walking his dog near Lake Phalen last week.

Four males, who appeared to be teenagers, came up to the man Friday night and asked him for change, said Peter Panos, police spokesman.

"The next thing he knows, he's knocked out," Panos said. One report said a baseball bat was used and another said it was a rubber object, Panos said.

The man was brought to the hospital. He didn't have life threatening injuries, Panos said.

Nothing was taken in the attack, Panos said.

Police are looking into whether Friday's assault is connected to an attack last summer at Lake Phalen, Panos said. On Aug. 1, a woman in her 40s was walking at the lake when three young people wielding baseball bats attacked her.

They tried to hit her over her head repeatedly, but the woman held up her hands to protect her head. One of her fingers was severed, and she has multiple fractures in both hands and her wrist. The case is unsolved.

On Aug. 4, a young married couple was assaulted with bats while taking a walk around Lake Phalen. Three teens with gang ties were charged in that case.