Assailant with sword severs hand of homeless man in downtown Riverside, police say

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- In an unusual and disturbing attack, an assailant armed with a sword sliced off the hand of a homeless man in Riverside, police say.

The attack happened Saturday night around 5th Street and Fairmount Boulevard. Police started getting calls around 10:30 p.m. from people reporting a severed hand found on the sidewalk.

Stunned officers at first thought they might encounter a movie prop - until staff at a nearby hospital called to report they were treating a man who had his hand cut off.

Officers found the severed hand on the ground next to an overturned shopping cart.

People who work in the area know the victim and describe him as a regular in the area who always seemed pleasant.

"He's a really nice guy, he's one of our regulars," said Nikki Hernandez, who works at a restaurant down the street from the site of the attack.

"If someone were to upset him he would argue with them, but he would never get into a fight or altercation like that."

Friends of the victim have started a GoFundMe to help him.

Police say they are trying to get more information from the victim, who was medicated and in pain after surgery.

"We weren't able to get too much out of the victim," said Riverside Officer Ryan Railsback. "As you can imagine he was taken into surgery immediately, and the pain and medications he was on, but we were able to get enough where he said he was attacked by a man with a sword, and actually cut off his hand."

Riverside police are still looking for the suspect.

They do not believe it was a completely random attack. They believe the suspect may be another homeless individual who knew the victim. A motive for the attack is still under investigation.