Motive of downtown Seattle attack a mystery

SEATTLE — The motive for a brutal attack on a man who was on his way home from work in downtown Seattle Monday night remains a mystery.

It happened just before 8 p.m. at Seventh Avenue and Pike Street.    The man was walking down the street with a brief case when witnesses say a man in his 20s started beating him for no reason.

The victim ended up on the ground.

The attack was witnessed by many tourists including Dean Butterfield of San Diego.

“The repetition of the blows was just lightning speed. You could hear it all the way over here, “said Butterfield standing across the street.

Another tourist from Germany didn’t see any reason why the man initiated the attack.

“He walked past him and hit him with the elbow or shoulder. There was no reason, “said Bob Davis.

Davis ran into a Starbucks nearby and asked workers to call 911.

Two officers happened to be driving by and jumped out to stop the assault.

Police said the suspect, who had the upper hand on the victim, had wrapped a belt around his hand and was hitting the victim in the face with a belt buckle.

The officers tried to break up the fight but the suspect continued to fight the victim, police said, and officers used pepper spray to subdue him.

Witnesses say it took about 5 minutes for them to get the man into custody.  Police said one officer received a broken finger during the struggle.

Seattle police confirm the officers sent out a “help the officer “call for backup because a woman ran toward the officers yelling and screaming in an attempt to incite the crowd of people with comments about  racial profiling as she filmed the incident with her cellphone.

Witness said police ended up spraying her with pepper spray.

The victim received severe facial injuries and was transported to Harborview for treatment.

The suspect, a 27-year-old San Diego man, was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of assault.  The woman, a 19-year-old from Lake Stevens, was booked on obstruction charges.

KIRO