ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando police are searching for a group of men they believe knocked a man unconscious with skateboards May 1.
Officers released video Tuesday showing the skateboard attack in Downtown Orlando. Witness video shows a group of sevent to 10 men get into an argument at the intersection of East Central Boulevard and North Court Avenue around 10 p.m. The fight escalates when one man swings his skateboard and hits another man across the head.
The victim, who police have identified as Brett Thompson, runs behind a parked car as a few men holding skateboards follow. Video shows the fight continuing behind the parked car.
A man in a white T-shirt backs off from the scene as two other men holding skateboards chase after him. Police have identified him as Josue Mariana Sanchez Sauza.
According to an Orlando Police Department release, officers found Thompson on the ground with wounds and blood on his face. Another officer took Sauza in custody for resisting arrest.
Sauza told police he and Thompson were friends and were talking to a group of women when the group of skateboarders tried to also get the women's attention. Sauza said this interaction sparked an argument that escalated to a physical fight, according to the OPD release.
Sauza told police the group with skateboards attacked him, hitting him twice before turning to Thompson, who was trying to de-escalate the situation.
Officers were able to meet with Thompson in the hospital to get his version of the event. He said the skateboarders tried to do a trick that almost hit him and Sauza, so Thompson told one of the men on a skateboard to "watch out." Thompson told police Sauza is known to get into fights a lot, and threatened to fight the group when they gave the them attitude.
Thompson told police he is not one to get into fights, but when one of the men touched him he told the man "don't put your hands on me" and was blindsided by a skateboard.
Thompson told police he doesn't remember much else because he lost consciousness in the attack. He added that during the incident his Apple watch went missing.
Now police are trying to identify the people in the video.
Anyone with information is urged to call Orlando police.