Police investigate assault in which victim says racial comments were made
The Des Moines Police Department is investigating an assault that happened early Saturday morning.
Officers received a report of an assault on the 5200 block of South Union Street. Authorities found a 22-year-old male victim from Des Moines at approximately 3:25 a.m.
"The officers got there and found that he had some pretty significant injuries, and as the investigation moved forward, the victim was able to tell us there were some racist comments made during the assault on him," said Sgt. Paul Parizek, with the Des Moines Police Department.
The victim was transported to a local hospital.
"The victim reported that he had been assaulted by multiple suspects, one of whom made racist comments during the assault," Parizek said. "The victim in this case is black and the suspects are described as white males."
"Luckily there were some witnesses who were able to stop the attack and save the young mans life," said Kameron Middlebrooks, president of Des Moines' NAACP. "This is a time for unity. A time for us to stand together. A time for us to no longer ignore the situation."
Authorities are interviewing witnesses and looking into evidence. Anyone with information on the assault is asked to call the Des Moines Police Department at 515-283-4868.
"The fact that someone got hurt is what's going to motivate us the most to get this solved," Parizek said. "But the fact that there may have been some racist comments made, certainly takes this to the next level and it's something we're going to get resolved, because we can't have that in this community."