Pine Bluff firefighters spray off blood that accumulated on the ground after a man was beaten by an unknown assailant at the Speedway at 25th Avenue and Cherry Street, as Pine Bluff police stand by after their investigation Wednesday. Special to the Commercial/William Harvey
Ed.'s Note — WARNING — There is blood visible in the video above, which shows Pine Bluff Police Department crime scene technicians cataloging evidence at the crime scene Wednesday afternoon. Click here to view a photo gallery of images from the crime scene. Again, blood is visible in some of the photos.
A man was hit multiple times in the face and head Wednesday afternoon by an unidentified man outside a gas station, according to police reports.
The victim, identified in the report as Carl Coleman, 55, sustained non-life-threatening injuries, said Pine Bluff Police Department spokesman Capt. Greg Shapiro.
Officer Eric Chapmon was called at 3:50 p.m. to the Speedway gas station at 110 W. 25th Ave., where he found Coleman sitting on the ground bleeding profusely from the head. According to Chapmon’s report, an individual was applying a towel to Coleman’s injury. A witness reported seeing someone hit Coleman over the head with something and heard and saw glass shattering.
One witness described pulling the suspect away from Coleman after seeing him hit Coleman several times.
Chapmon reviewed the surveillance tapes of the incident, according to his report. In them he saw Coleman come out of the store when he was approached from behind by a black male who had been standing outside the door at the newspaper stand.
“The suspect appeared to hit Mr. Coleman in the back of the head causing him to fall,” Chapmon stated in the report. “The suspect then continued to hit Mr. Coleman multiple times in the area of the face and head as he was lying on the ground.”
The witness then came and got the suspect around the waist and walked backward with him. The suspect appeared to walk west on 25th Avenue as he left the scene.
Coleman was treated on the scene and transported by ambulance to Jefferson Regional Medical Center, where Chapmon later spoke to him. Coleman was unable to identify the suspect.
“Mr. Coleman advised that he walked out of the store and someone hit him in the head with something that felt cold and caused him to fall,” Chapmon stated in his report. “He stated he could not see who it was and was only trying to deflect the strikes with his right arm as he was lying on the ground.”
Chapmon described Coleman as still bleeding heavily, with swollen areas on his right arm and one eye swollen shut.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Pine Bluff Police Detective Division at 730-2090. All calls will be kept confidential. A reward is available for information leading to the identification and arrest of the suspect(s). Anonymous tips can be submitted through the PBPD website at www.pbpd.org or through their Facebook page. Tips can be texted anonymously to detectives by texting to CRIMES and using the phrase “PBPD” with the message.