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Downtown Mob Sends "Good Samaritan" To Hospital

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A man who tried to calm down a mob of teenagers as police broke up a confrontation is in “serious condition” according to Eugene police.  

Monday night, officers arrived near the public library.  Two girls were being physically harassed by another girl, as other teens egged her on.  While police took her into custody, the mob surrounded the officers and got increasingly hostile.

EPD spokeswoman Melinda McLaughlin says a “Good Samaritan” tried to de-escalate tensions.  Things calmed down, but after police left with the aggravator, the mob attacked the man. 

“What the man did was brave," says McLaughlin.  "He tried to help, he certainly didn’t deserve what he got.  He was trying to do the right thing. 

"Mobs in general, and groups of people, can become very dangerous.”

The 52-year-old man suffered a head injury and lost consciousness.

One suspect police are trying to find is a clean-shaven white male with a husky build, about 5’ foot 9 and carrying a black backpack.

Copyright 2017, KLCC.  

Brian Bull is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and remains a contributor to the KLCC news department. He began working with KLCC in June 2016.   In his 27+ years as a public media journalist, he's worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.
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