An apparently unprovoked attack on an unhoused man sleeping on a Tower District sidewalk drew shock from residents during the weekend and served as a reminder of the vulnerability of people without shelter in Fresno.

A 47-year-old man who advocates knew only as Freddy was sleeping about 2 a.m. Aug. 26 on a sidewalk along Olive Avenue west of Van Ness Avenue when a surveillance camera caught a second man attack Freddy without warning.

Police said a witness told them they saw a man assaulting another, and investigators later found the attack on surveillance video.

He was taken to Community Regional Medical Center but could not provide many details because he was a sleep when attacked, police said on Monday.

A man with dark hair wearing a red tracksuit and carrying what appeared to be to-go food kicked Freddy in the head several times and followed that by stomping on Freddy near Cuca’s Restaurant, video shows.

An employee at Cuca’s who did not give his name on Monday said he has seen Freddy in the area for at least a year. Freddy would occasionally come inside for water or to charge his phone, and has never been a problem.

“He’s a really nice guy,” the employee said over the phone.

Freddy has been a face homeless advocates have seen for some time in the Tower District, according to Dez Martinez, an advocate for the unhoused and executive director of We Are NOT Invisible, a local non-profit that advocates for people who live on the street.

“He doesn’t speak to anybody. He stays to himself, quiet,” she said on Monday. “I’ve never known him to cause any problems.”

Martinez said Freddy would accept services like water or other donated items but was mostly shy and kept to himself. “He loved donuts,” she said.

Being alone on the street can make you a target, she said. Many folks who are unhoused find safety in numbers.

“This is why we need large camps,” she said. “People see it as clutter, but that is safety.”

The attack comes as people who live on the street are seeing more and more ordinances restricting where they can rest, camp or hang around.

Following newfound authority after the U.S. Supreme Court’s OK in June, the Fresno City Council and the Fresno County Board of supervisors adopted in August new ordinances that outlawed camping or loitering in public areas.

The City Council doubled down with another ordinance pertaining to unhoused people on private property. That ordinance closed a loophole in existing city laws, supporters said.

The troubling video was also shared on Friday on the Please Help Stop Crime in the Tower District page on Facebook.

“Please just tell me they were able to catch this monster who attacked him,” one comment said.

“Oh my gosh, why didn’t we hear about this sooner? So so awful,” another said.

Fresno police said Monday they have not made an arrest nor have they identified the assailant. Police ask anyone with information to contact Detective Guadalupe Olague at 559-287-3921.

Anyone calling with information can remain anonymous by contacting Crime Stoppers at 559-498-7867.