2 Men Beaten With Brass Knuckles, Robbed In South Mpls.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Two men are trying to make sense of a brutal beating involving brass knuckles in South Minneapolis this past weekend.
The victims were leaving a house party near the intersection of Emerson Avenue South and 28th Street West and walking to their car when four men attacked them unprovoked.
"Once they got in about a foot of range, bam, the next thing I knew I was getting hit," said victim Jay Ness.
For Ness, the attack lasted about 25 seconds, but he says it felt more like 2 hours. According to Ness, the men wore hoods so their faces were hard to see, but he did get a good look at what was in their hands. Without warning, they began hitting him with brass knuckles.
"I said, 'just take it. Take what you want,' I was swearing back at them. They said, 'we are going to take it after you take this,'" said Ness.
After the beating, they took his wallet, and left Ness with a concussion and cuts on his face, lip and ear.
Ness says his friend, Chris Beck, is even worse.
"I know the bone close to his eye was broken," said Ness. "He's not going to be able to see for a while."
Minneapolis Police spokesman William Palmer says it almost seemed as if the attackers were looking for a fight more than a robbery.
Last year in Minneapolis, 25 pairs of brass knuckles were confiscated. It is illegal to carry them, and police say cases like this are the reason why.
"Brass knuckles can be a devastating weapon, especially if you are struck in the face. These men were jumped, punched, kicked, fairly seriously injured and then they were robbed -- and that's concerning," said Palmer.
What's also concerning for Ness is that the attackers were willing to beat him for almost nothing.
"I looked at my bank statement and found out that they had gone to a few gas stations and McDonald's. So, essentially all for a tank of gas and a quarter pounder," said Ness.
Ness says Beck was released from the hospital Monday and is doing better. He says the attackers knocked off his glasses so he didn't get a good look at their faces.
If anyone has information related to this incident, they are encouraged to contact the Minneapolis Police Department immediately.
