A male victim suffered injuries to the face after being attacked by four male suspects on University Avenue early Saturday morning.

The victim was hit and kicked by the suspect numerous times after attempting to hail a cab around 12:05 a.m., a Madison Police Department statement said. It added the suspects made verbal contact with the victim before the battery.

The statement said the suspects are four black males approximately 20 years old.

Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the incident occurred across the street from Segredo in front of the Fluno Center. He said a Segredo security staff member went across the street to assist the victim after he saw what happened.

He added the suspects fled the area before MPD arrived and are still at large.

Many high-profile incidents have occurred in this area of downtown over the past year, which has led to increased MPD security through the downtown safety initiative, according to Verveer.

“I was really surprised when I heard about this attack, given the location and time of evening because of all the extra attention the police are giving the 600 block of University Avenue,” Verveer said.

He said there were at least six extra police officers in addition to the regular officers in the area at the time of the attack. He added even though police cannot be everywhere at once, it is “frustrating” the attack happened on such a heavily policed area.

This incident occurred in the same place as the shooting last May during graduation weekend, Verveer said. He said the area is covered with city surveillance cameras, which will hopefully lead the police to find the suspects.

“I am optimistic the suspects will be identified based on the video footage that is readily available to detectives,” Verveer said.