SHARE

Two teens playing the mobile game Pokémon Go on their phones were attacked by seven people about 2 a.m. Friday near Kids Kingdom at Enterprise Park in east Redding, police said.

Officers just after 3 a.m. went to Mercy Medical Center to speak with Zacaryia Bradshaw, 18, and a 16-year-old girl who isn’t being named by police, Sgt. Chris Smyrnos said.

They told police that seven people — three women and four men — confronted them about 2 a.m. while they were playing Pokémon Go in the park, Smyrnos said.

In the new smartphone app, cartoon Pokémon characters show up through the phone’s camera, and users can collect and fight the critters. As people walk around, they can find more Pokémon animals.

During the early morning confrontation the group demanded the girl’s purse and Bradshaw’s wallet, police said. The girl refused and one of the women stabbed her in the arm, though the wound isn’t life threatening, police said.

During the attack on the girl, Bradshaw tried to intervene and was hit in the neck with a PVC pipe. Bradshaw’s wallet was taken by one of the suspects, Smyrnos said. Police ask anyone with information to call 225-4200.

Pokémon Go has gained more active users than Twitter and is sending millions of people outdoors, including hundreds in Redding.