“They were looking for a fight — you could tell,” Chris Elder, a fourth-year psychology and sociology major said.

Shortly after midnight on Sunday morning, Elder and a group of friends left a party at 6662 Del Playa Dr. and headed into the routine post-noise curfew traffic jam when they saw a group of roughly 10 individuals in the midst of a brawl two houses away. According to Elder, the altercation began as a clash between two groups of about five people each but quickly escalated as two assailants jumped one individual, striking him in the head from behind and knocking him to the ground.

Though Isla Vista Foot Patrol Lieutenant Ray Vuillemainroy declined to comment on the incident, he confirmed that at least one individual was stabbed in the course of the fight.

“It all happened in a matter of a minute, minute and a half, and then there were two people on the ground, one of them unconscious,” Elder said.

According to Elder, the two assailants then dragged their victim to the curb and kicked him into the concrete surface.

James Oliveira, a fourth-year Portuguese and film studies major, said the victim was bleeding from both the nose the back of his head.

“The main thing was he hit his head on the curb,” Oliveira said. “I have not seen anyone knocked out that bad, ever. He was in another place.”

According to Scott Lemoine, a fourth-year environmental science major, several people walked out of the brawl with bloody faces. After the initial fight, Lemoine and Elder both said several of the assailants remained on scene, shouting at onlookers and briefly clashing with other combatants. According to Elder, the individuals left the scene when an ambulance arrived less than 10 minutes later.

According to a KEYT report, three people total were hospitalized for various injuries — one with a significant stab wound — sustained in the fights Saturday night and early Sunday morning.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Dept. Public Information Officer Drew Sugars could not be reached as of press time.

Angie Ward, a fourth-year film and media studies major, said the entrance to her 6653 Del Playa Dr. apartment and the surrounding street area were taped off by law enforcement when she returned home after midnight.

“It was really surreal to walk up to a full-on crime scene in front of my house,” Ward said.

Ward said police and other law enforcement officials questioned her before letting her through the barricade while other officials kept bystanders back and photographed the scene.

The following morning, Ward said visible blood splatter remained on the driveway and sidewalk outside her home.

According to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Dept., officials will release details about the incident sometime today.

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