South Bay man fighting for his life after beating in San Jose

SAN JOSE, Calif. - A South Bay man is fighting for his life after being attacked by a group of people. Police investigators said the violence happened near an entrance to the popular San Pedro Square restaurant & entertainment district in Downtown San Jose.

"We received a call of a person down near the intersection of saint john and Terraine streets," said officer Steve Aponte, a spokesman for the San Jose Police Department.

Aponte said a group of people attacked two men at the intersection around 6 p.m. Sunday. One of the victims suffered minor injuries, but the beating inflicted life-threatening injuries on the other.

Friends tell KTVU that the more severely injured victim is a young man in his 20s who works as an area plumber, and has no gang ties or involvement.

"We are looking into contacting family members and friends who were with that individual earlier in the day to lay a track to understand where they were and how this occurred. If this was a random incident? We wanna know about that," said Aponte.

This crime follows several other high-profile acts of violence in Downtown San Jose since at least the spring.

In March, a police-involved shooting at the La Victoria Taqueria started with a brawl inside the restaurant. It spilled onto the street when someone pulled a gun. K’aun Green disarmed the gunman, only to be shot by responding officers.

More recently, in May, a double shooting not far from the San Jose State campus claimed two lives.

"It is sketch. It is getting worse. Downtown San Jose, it really is getting worse," downtown resident Ahmad Martinez said May 16.

Police investigators said violent crime is actually trending downward in San Jose, and that there’s less crime here than in comparable big cities.

Experts said these crimes don’t represent an uptick in violence in the area.

"I wouldn’t say that people are contacting me and expressing fears about a pervasive crime situation, no," said Nate LeBlanc, a business development manager with the San Jose Downtown Association. "We do hear from members that nightlife is still one of the main things that’s drawing people downtown."

Multiple security cameras are positioned at the crime scene intersection. Police detectives hope one captured images before and after the violence which will lead them to the suspects.

"I don’t think there’s a gang nexus involved with this. At this point, what we’re looking at is a serious assault that occurred," said Aponte.

Police ask anyone who was in the area of the crime Sunday evening and knows what happened, to contact them. You can do so anonymously.

Jesse Gary is a reporter based in the station's South Bay bureau. Follow him on Twitter @JesseKTVU and Instagram @jessegontv.