Two Hurt in Separate Eastside Assaults

Santa Barbara police are calling two attacks on the eastside of the city this afternoon unprovoked assaults that may be related.

One victim, who was riding his bicycle near the intersection of Carpinteria and Soledad streets just before 4 p.m., was struck in the head with some sort of object or stick by a person leaning out of a vehicle, and is currently in the Intensive Care Unit at Cottage Hospital, according to Sgt. Marty Ensign at 9:25 p.m. Wednesday. His condition was initially thought to be more severe, but according to Ensign, the victim is currently in stable condition.

Within 10 minutes of that attack, two other victims were walking along Bond Avenue near Milpas when a car approached and someone from the car leaned out and struck one of the victims in the forehead, according to police. The second victim reported being struck in the leg. Neither are seriously injured.

The two incidents – not the result of fights – might be related, and might be gang-related, Ensign said, but police couldn’t say conclusively that was the case. There are currently no suspects, but authorities are possibly looking for a white, foreign vehicle.

Ensign did not know the ages or names of the victims, but said the victim in the first attack was an adult male.