Police looking for group of teens who attacked 2 people on East Palo Alto pedestrian bridge

EAST PALO ALTO, Calif. (KGO) -- A pedestrian bridge in East Palo has become the focus of police patrols for the last 24 hours.

East Palo Alto police are looking for a group of teenagers who attacked two pedestrians Thursday night.

Four weeks ago the East Palo Alto community celebrated the opening of a pedestrian bridge-- now that joy turned into fear for some residents.

"I saw five or four teenagers, they were coming when I saw them. I held on to this railing because of my years I was scared too. They can overpower me if they wanted to," said East Palo Alto resident, Mahendra Verma.

At 8 PM on Thursday the first attack was reported.

"They just converge on the victim and started beating on the victim on top of the footbridge," said East Palo Alto Police commander Jeff Liu.

According to East Palo police, the first victim was attacked by five teenagers.

An hour and 20 minutes later, the second report came in.

"In the second robbery it was described as six to eight suspects who surrounded the victim demanding the content of his pocket," said Commander Liu.

The victim, according to police, pulled out a knife and the teenagers ran off.

"It makes me really wary you know, which is a sad commentary. When you see people, in general, to be wary for your basic safety, it's very sad," said Palo Alto resident Robert Atkins.

Atkins says he hopes the police don't just find the teenage suspects but also finds them help.

East Palo Alto police said they searched the area for surveillance video to identify the suspects.