Several out-of-town visitors who fell victim to beatings and robbery over the weekend may have been in Madison for the Mifflin Street Block Party, according to Madison Police Department spokesperson Joel DeSpain.
Around 1 a.m. Saturday, two male suspects knocked a 19-year-old man from Illinois unconscious in a dispute on College Court.
DeSpain said two groups of men were in a fight and one or two men from one side started beating up a man from the other group. The victim was taken to the hospital and did not remember details of the beating.
Early Sunday morning, a group of several men assaulted two 19- and 20-year-old Minnesota residents on Fahrenbrook Court, who were later taken to a hospital.
Also early Sunday morning, a 24-year-old Minnesota woman was robbed at gunpoint while walking in the 700 block of West Washington Avenue, according to DeSpain.
DeSpain said the woman was walking back to the place she was staying for the weekend when a young African-American man approached her, asking to borrow her phone.
He allegedly knocked the phone out of her hand when she offered it to him and then pointed a gun at the woman before taking her phone and fleeing the scene.
DeSpain said robberies of small electronic items are common, and burglars often use them to trade for money or drugs. It is common for muggers and robbers to steal purses, wallets and phones from pedestrians.
