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Fairhaven Police responded to the area of 14 Oxford Street Tuesday night just after 7:00 pm in response to an assault that had just occurred. When Officers arrived, they learned that a 48 year old male, who had been shoveling snow, had been struck repeatedly with a shovel by an unknown assailant.
The victim, who is a member of the Fairhaven Housing Authority and a member of the Fairhaven Conservation Committee, told police he was approached by a white male between 25 and 30 years of age, with dark hair and dark eyes and a faint mustache. The victim said the suspect, who was wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, possibly with a North Face insignia on it, asked him if he needed help with his shoveling. He told the person he did not need any assistance.
According to the victim, the man then started striking him repeatedly with a shovel he was carrying. The handle was broken during the attack, and is described as a metal spade-type of shovel used for digging not snow removal. After striking the victim approximately ten times, the attacker fled on foot east on Oxford Street, then north on Cherry Street.
Responding Officers followed the suspect’s footprints in the snow onto Cherry Street, where it appeared as though the suspect entered a vehicle and fled from the scene. The victim told police that he did not know his assailant and that he’d never seen the attacker before.
The victim was treated at the scene by Fairhaven Firefighter/Paramedics and transported by them to St. Luke’s Hospital. He was then transferred to Rhode Island Hospital. This investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with any information about this attack is asked to contact Fairhaven Police Detectives at 508-997-7421.
