Assault Victim Clings To Life; Spokane Police Search For Attacke - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

SPOKANE, Wash – Spokane Police are looking for whoever is behind a brutal beating on Spokane's lower South Hill early Tuesday that has left one man in the Intensive Care Unit clinging to life.

Just a few minutes before 6 a.m., a passerby called 911 reporting that a man was lying on the ground on 7^th between Washington and Bernard and possibly needed help, however there was no obvious sign he'd been attacked.

A fire crew was dispatched and took the man to the hospital, where medical personnel discovered the extent of the man's injuries.  They rushed him into the ICU and then to surgery to relieve swelling in his brain that was the result of some kind of blunt force trauma to the head.

Police say the man also had some other abrasions to his legs.

The Major Crimes and Forensics team spent hours on the scene trying to collect any possible evidence and take photos, however no weapon was recovered, and police have not heard from any witnesses.

The man who was attacked is in his mid-50's and police say he lives in the Spokane area, but they don't know if he has any family or next of kin, or how long he may have been there before that 911 call came in.

"His medical condition was such that by the time we arrived, he was already in the ICU and taken into surgery, so that's something we're working on with the medical staff, to try and determine the nature of the injuries and what those could have been caused by," said Spokane Police Commander Brad Arleth.

Police are asking you for help; if you saw anyone or anything suspicious in that area between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. Tuesday, call Crime Check at 456-2233 or the SPD tip line at 242-TIPS.