Oregon Public Broadcasting

A 59-year-old man was hospitalized after being attacked early Tuesday morning in Eugene. The man was walking home at around one-o’clock when three white males approached him, asked for cigarettes and then beat him with a baseball bat.

The man suffered major injuries to his head and face and will need several reconstructive surgeries.

Eugene Police Detective Jeff Donaca says they have no leads and they do not think robbery was a motive.

Jeff Donaca: “This may be a racially motivated crime. The victim doesn’t specifically recall anything racial being said to him, but in the absence of any other motive, that’s certainly something that we’re going to be taking a look at.”

Donaca says the department is not releasing the victim’s name, for his protection.