Man beaten, stabbed after trying to stop taggers defacing Anaheim home

A man was beaten and stabbed Sunday night after confronting a group of taggers who were defacing a vacant home in Anaheim, police said.

The man, whose identity was not released, was stabbed about 9:30 p.m. outside the home, Anaheim police said. Police initially said the vacant building was a business.

Described to be in his 40s, the man was in stable condition Monday morning at UCI Medical Center, said Lt. Eric Trapp.

Trapp said the man’s actions were understandable because he wanted to stop blight in his community.

“But what we want people to do is be a good witness,” he said, instead of directly contacting vandals.

Several taggers were defacing the home with graffiti in the 2600 block of Lincoln Avenue when the man confronted them and tried to get them to stop, Trapp said, and that’s when the taggers turned on him.

A witness who saw the attack retrieved a handgun and fired a couple of shots in the air to scare the taggers, he said.

No one has been arrested in connection with the assault and police have not identified the attackers, Trapp said.

The taggers were described as men in their early- and mid-20s. They were last seen driving away from the area in a four-door, blue Nissan Versa, he said.

Trapp said gang investigators do not believe the attack is related to a deadly shooting in unincorporated Anaheim, where a pair of good Samaritans also tried to stop a group of men from tagging.

That shooting occurred about 9:53 p.m. on July 19 after David Douglas, 51, and a second man confronted three to five men for tagging graffiti in the area, said Lt. Jeff Hallock of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. After an argument, a shooting occurred.

Douglas and the second man suffered gunshot wounds and were found inside a Ford SUV at the intersection of Poona Drive and Lullaby Lane. They were taken to an hospital and hours later, Douglas died as result of the gunshot wounds to his torso.

Anyone with information about Sunday’s attack is asked to call (714) 765-1900.

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