Cathedral City man brutally assaulted in Australia

A local man living in Australia is hospitalized after being brutally attacked.

32-year-old Oscar Villagrana of Cathedral City was beaten unconscious twice while walking away from a public transportation stop in Preston, Victoria, Australia last Wednesday night.

Victoria Police said Oscar required emergency surgery to stop bleeding in his brain and has suffered serious memory loss.

The assault was described by officers as the worst they have seen.

Police said they believe the attack was random and “unmotivated.”

“It appears to be unmotivated at this point, the victim is seen quite clearly stepping off a tram walking on his own, this unknown male runs up to him and we don’t know why at this point,” said Detective Senior Constable Matthew Coleiro.

Oscar is a traveling musician who was in Australia for 6 weeks. He was due to head back home on Saturday, according to Australian newspaper the New Daily.

Oscar’s father, Manny Villagrana, lives in the valley and learned of the news through Oscar’s friends. Manny boarded a flight today to visit his son. Oscar will be hospitalized in Melbourne for the next three weeks.

“They reconstructed his jaw and they hit him in the head, so I’m going to go see how grave the matter is but he did tell me that there are videos and they know who it is,” Manny said.

Police announced on Monday that a suspect is in custody but officers are still looking for others who may be involved.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay for Oscar’s medical expenses. Click here if you would like to donate.