Neighbors surprised by brutal beating near Minnesota State Fair

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St. Paul police are calling it an anomaly after a man who was leaving the Minnesota State Fair was brutally beaten by strangers just blocks away.

The man, a resident of Little Canada, Minn., is still in critical condition.

Police responded to a call near the intersection of Albert Street and Breda Avenue around 12:30 a.m. Saturday where the found a man unconscious, having been severely beaten.

Now, residents say they are stunned to learn what happened in their own neighborhood.

“We’ve never really had any problems in this neighborhood," said neighbor Amy Esler.

Police say that the victim spent Friday evening at the fair. Later that night, he and a friend ran into trouble when they walked by a house party near the intersection of Albert St. and Breda Ave.

A relative told the Pioneer Press that at some point, words were exchanged.

The victim was then attacked from behind while trying to order an Uber ride on his cell phone. Police later found him lying near an alley.

“We didn’t hear the assault. We didn’t hear a party. This really isn’t a house party neighborhood,” Esler said.

However, Esler said that it is typical to see an overflow of traffic during the state fair.

“There’s tons of increased traffic. It’s really busy a lot of people driving up and down the street trying to find parking...nowhere to park,” she said.

Saturday’s assault is the second such incident this year, as Esler said a jogger was attacked near here not too long ago.

So far, no arrests have been made in this case. 

“I hope they find someone and I hope it’s not somebody from this neighborhood,” Esler said.

Anyone with information about the assault is asked to call St. Paul Police at 651-266-5650.

The family has set up a GoFundMe for the victim, which can be found here.