Six to eight young men beat up Minneapolis restaurant owner

He had just arrived in the parking lot of his restaurant, Azia, near 26th St. and Nicollet Av. S. in Minneapolis at about 3:45 a.m. Tuesday when someone grabbed him from behind.

Someone hit him in the face with a stick and three men began to beat him. Pham, though small in stature, is a former Judo teacher, and fought back.

But another car with "four, maybe five" young men pulled up and joined the attack. Pham ran down the alley toward 25th St. but was cornered again. Someone hit him with a large brick, he thinks.

Bloodied and barely able to see, Pham eventually made it to Nicollet, where a couple of cars slowed to help. The men ran away.

Fifth Precinct Inspector Kristine Arneson said there have been no reports of random violence by groups of young people in the precinct. She said the attackers appear to have targeted Pham.

"We're not speculating at this time," said Mike Stebnitz, Pham's former business partner. "But it was very intense and very intentional."

Because of the ferocity of the attack, Pham is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the assailants.