A sword-wielding assailant chopped off another man’s hand in downtown Riverside on Saturday night, authorities said Monday.
The victim, who is in his 60s and believed to be homeless, was taken to a nearby hospital and is expected to survive, according to Ryan Railsback, a spokesman for the Riverside Police Department. The attacker remains at large.
Police responded to a call just before 10:30 p.m. Saturday after people reported “what appeared to be a severed hand” on the ground near Fairmount Boulevard and 5th Street, Railsback said.
“Officers found the hand and what appeared to be a crime scene, and around the same time an adult male in his 60s showed up at a local hospital missing a hand,” he said. “This was, of course, related.”
Police do not believe the attack was random, and it is possible the victim knew the perpetrator, who may also be homeless, Railsback said.
The investigation is ongoing.
