Man attacks San Francisco park-goer with hatchet

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An assailant wielding a hatchet attacked a stranger for no apparent reason Monday in San Francisco’s Jefferson Square Park before he was thwarted by two Good Samaritans, police said.

The 39-year-old victim was sitting in the Hayes Valley park when the man approached him and struck him with the handle of the hatchet, police said. As the victim tried to run, the attacker continued hitting him with the hatchet’s handle, police said.

It appears to be a random attack, said Officer Giselle Talkoff, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco Police Department.

A short distance away, the man fell to the ground, and the attacker raised the hatchet above him with the blade pointing at the victim. But before the assailant could strike, two onlookers tackled him, police said.

The incident happened about 4 p.m. near Gough and Turk streets.

Officers arrested a 23-year-old suspect, but police didn’t release details on the attacker.

The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment of injuries to his back, knees and hands.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov