A group of young men assaulted two men in a downtown St. Paul skyway last week, bloodying the face of a 23-year-old and breaking the wrist of a 59-year-old who walks with a cane.

Both victims said Tuesday that they hadn’t known the suspects and they believed the attack was gang-related. St. Paul police are investigating why it happened and who the suspects are, said Steve Linders, a department spokesman.

Some people downtown have been hearing about the assaults and expressing concern, including about the older victim, who is known as “Grandpa Dave.”

About the time of the skyway beatings last week, another man reported an assault at a nearby light-rail station downtown, though a Metro Transit spokesman didn’t have information about whether they were connected.

The cases occurred about 6 p.m. Jan. 19. The victims of the skyway assault said it occurred in the Town Square skyway area of the Bremer Tower at 445 Minnesota St.

Thomas Klein, 23, was walking through the skyway and ran into a co-worker, who he said jumped on his back jokingly. A group of seven to eight young men ran up and asked Klein if he wanted them to beat up the man, according to Klein. He told them “no,” explaining that the man was his friend.

People in the group appeared to be recording the men with their cellphones, and Klein said he politely asked them to stop.

“Next thing I know, I got hit in the face,” Klein said. He fell to the ground. He said his tooth cut through his cheek, leaving his face bloodied and swollen. He didn’t seek medical attention.

Klein noticed that the people who attacked him all wore red, which led him to believe they were in a gang. He estimated they ranged in age from 17 to their mid-20s; one had facial tattoos with lettering under and above his eyes.

“I think they were just looking for people to jump and start a fight,” Klein said.

Klein was walking with David, a 59-year-old friend who said he didn’t want to give his full name because he works with homeless youths on his own, not through an organization, and “the only way they’ll keep trusting me is if I stay invisible.”

David estimated six people were involved in the assault and said the young men “jumped me from behind,” hitting him in the head and face. He said he fell down and got up three times before they stomped on his wrist while he was on the ground.

The suspects were wearing red coats with black stripes and were 16 to 20 years old, David estimated. A friend of his who tries to get young people out of gangs in Minneapolis called him after the assault, saying he’d heard what happened and had been told it was a gang initiation, David said.

Klein and David are white and said the suspects were African-American. Both men said they didn’t regard the assaults as racially motivated. “I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” David said.

Klein and David said police have told them they’re preparing photo lineups for them to try to identify the people involved in the attack.

“It’s an open and active investigation,” Linders said Tuesday. “We’re working with the victims to identify the suspects.”

The assault at the Central Station platform, at Fifth and Cedar streets, also occurred about 6 p.m. Jan. 19. A 23-year-old victim did not need medical attention, said Howie Padilla, a Metro Transit spokesman.

The victim knew “at least one of the individuals in some way” and reported the assault involved about six assailants, Padilla said. He was punched and kicked. The group — who were not all wearing the same color, as the victims of the skyway assault reported — was gone when police arrived, Padilla said.

Mara H. Gottfried can be reached at 651-228-5262. Follow her at twitter.com/MaraGottfried.