Three men were attacked by a group of eight men in the French Quarter late Wednesday night, New Orleans police said.

Advertisement NOPD: 8 armed men attack 3 in French Quarter Man stabbed multiple times in attack, police say Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Three men were attacked by a group of eight men in the French Quarter late Wednesday night, New Orleans police said.WATCH: TV reportThe incident was reported to police about 10:13 p.m. Wednesday in the 1000 block of Gov. Nicholls Street.According to a preliminary investigation, a 21-year-old man was walking in the area when he was approached from behind by eight armed men. One of the men was armed with a gun and demanded the victim's Galaxy Samsung cellphone.At the same time, the victim heard "Go get them," referring to a 21-year-old man and a 43-year-old man walking nearby.According to police, three of the weapon-wielding men walked up and immediately began to stab the 43-year-old man in the chest. The victim was stabbed multiple times, police said.The group took property from the victims and fled.The stabbing victim was taken to the hospital. Witnesses say he suffered a punctured lung."I heard him screaming for help," said Jimi Harper. "I ran outside and called 911."Harper was one of several residents who came outside to see what was going on."The suspects had already scattered by the time I got outside," Harper said.On Thursday afternoon, detectives with the NOPD were scanning through numerous video clips captured by several surveillance systems installed in the area."I sure hope they do something, because these attacks are getting closer to home and scarier," said Harper.Longtime French Quarter resident Bob Simms said they've seen an uptick in armed robberies and assaults."The attacks are becoming more violent and they're attacking people now," Simms said.Anyone with information on a crime can call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111. French Quarter Realty is offering a $1,000 reward on top of a Crimestoppers reward for information that leads to an arrest and indictment in the case.Earlier this week, the NOPD reassigned 22 officers from administrative positions to the streets in an effort to bolster presence. Three of those officers were assigned to the 8th District which includes the French Quarter.The city began accepting applications for NOLA Patrol in late November, a patrol of 50 civilians could hit the streets in early 2015. According to the city, the unarmed, uniformed patrol officers will handle traffic duties and other non-emergency assignments, to free up an under an understaffed New Orleans Police Department to focus on more serious crimes.Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news right in your inbox. Click here to sign up!13484466