A 38-year-old man fleeing a suspect early this morning in the South of Market District suffered life-threatening injuries after his attacker hit him in the head with a stick.

The assault occurred around 4:30am at the intersection of 5th and Bryant streets near the landmark Coca-Cola billboard after the 51-year-old male suspect struck the victim before jumping on him and punching him repeatedly.

After a witness driving past called police, officers arrived and took the suspect into custody.

Anyone who has information about this incident is encouraged to contact SFPD via the department's anonymous tip line at 415-575-4444, or text TIP411 with "SFPD" at the start of the message.

Here’s why we usually don’t include suspect descriptions in crime reports.