The victim was uninjured but at least two of the attackers were hit with their own hammer, police said.
PRINCETON - Three suspects pushed, kicked and tried to assault a man with a hammer on a residential street in Princeton Tuesday, police said in a statement Friday.
File photo. The suspects, Antonio Del Cid-Mijangos, 44, William Del Cid-Barillas, 23 and Edwin Del Cid-Barillas, 21, all of Princeton, were arrested and charged with aggravated assault, burglary and weapon charges after the assault Tuesday evening.
The victim was largely uninjured in the attack but the same was not true for at least two of the alleged assailants, who were injured by their own hammer and needed medical attention, police said.
The attack occurred around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday when the alleged victim, a 22-year-old Princeton man, was walking along Lytle Street. The three men came up to the 22-year-old on the street and began to assault him, first by pushing him to the ground and then by kicking him, the statement said.
Man attacked by unknown assailant in Princeton
The 22-year-old managed to get up and run away to a backyard on Lytle Street but Del Cid-Mijangos, William Cid-Barillas and Edwin Cid-Barillas, who had grabbed a hammer from a nearby truck, followed closely behind, the statement said. They tried to hit the 22-year-old with the hammer before he was able to call for help, the statement said.
A 29-year-old witness helped the victim into a nearby house, where they locked themselves inside, police said. But the three men didn't give up - they began pounding and kicking the door to the house, in an effort to break in, until police arrived, the statement said.
Officers came to the scene and arrested the men outside the house. The 22-year-old and 29-year-old victims were largely uninjured.
Police did not say whether there was a connection between the men. However, the victim, Del Cid-Mijangos and Del Cid-Barillas, all live on Lytle Street.
They were taken to a nearby hospital before the Mercer County Correctional Center. All three men are being held on a $50,000 bail.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman.