By Lookout Staff

October 25, 2022 -- Two men were stabbed in Downtown Santa Monica Monday night, and police are investigating if the incidents are related, according to police.

Officers responded to the first incident at around 9:30 p.m. after a caller reported a possible stabbing near the entrance to the Pier on Ocean Avenue and Colorado Boulevard.

The witness told the responding officers that a man approached him and asked for directions to the nearest hospital, said Lt. Rudy Flores, the Police Department spokesman.

"The witness noticed the male had what appeared to be a stab wound to his stomach" before the injured man walked away, Flores said.

Police checked the area, as well as local hospitals, but did not find the injured man, he said.

The victim was described as a Hispanic male, 40 to 50 years old with a long goatee and wearing a black hooded sweater, black pants and a black beanie. While searching for the victim, officers found a man with two small stab wounds to his torso area near the rear of the Ken Edwards Center at 1547 4th Street, according to police.

"The victim has been uncooperative with SMPD Officers and refused to provide them with details about what had occurred," Flores said.

The victim was transported to a local hospital, where he was listed in stable condition with non-life threatening wounds, he said.

"It has not been confirmed if these are related incidents," Flores said.

Investigating officers believe that the second man is not the same stabbing victim that was initially reported at Ocean Ave and Colorado Boulevard four blocks away, Flores said.