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Irvine police seek suspect in assault stemming from altercation between dogs

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Police are seeking a man suspected of assaulting an older man last week at an Irvine school after their dogs were involved in an altercation.

A 69-year-old man was walking his small dog Friday at 7 p.m. at Sierra Vista Middle School when he spotted a much larger husky, which was not wearing a leash and was believed to be with a young man who was kicking a soccer ball, Irvine police said in a statement.

As the husky approached, the older man picked up his dog to avoid a conflict, according to police, but he lost control of his leash, and the two animals began fighting.

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As the man tried to separate the dogs, the younger man struck him in the head from behind, police said. The victim was treated for injuries at a hospital.

Police have obtained surveillance footage of the incident and posted it online.

Irvine police said they haven’t identified a motive but were not ruling out “the possibility that this could be a hate crime.”

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The victim is Asian, but the suspect made no racial comments during the assault, Sgt. Karie Davies, an Irvine police spokesperson, told the Orange County Register.

“Until we can find [the suspect] and talk to him, we don’t know the motivation,” Davies said.

Irvine police described the suspect as being in his late teens and having a “darker complexion.” He was last seen wearing a dark T-shirt over a white shirt with long sleeves, dark shorts over white leggings or shin guards and a white backpack.

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Irvine police asked anyone with information about the incident to contact Det. Gavin Hudson at (949) 724-7168 or ghudson@cityofirvine.org.

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