MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A Minnesota Vikings running back is in jail after he allegedly beat up a 22-year-old man early Saturday morning at a birthday party in Oak Grove.
Twenty-four-year-old Caleb King is currently in the Anoka County Jail, pending formal charges, authorities said.
Paul Sommer with the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office said King was booked for third-degree assault with substantial bodily harm.
The victim, a Coon Rapids man whom police have not identified, is in serious condition at Mercy Hospital. Police say he suffered fractures on his face and skull – injuries that required more than 50 stitches to close.
He may also have “very serious” brain injuries, police say.
A press release from the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office paints this picture of the assault:
King and the victim came as guests to a 21-year-old woman’s birthday party. The party took place at a home on the 3400 block of 192nd Avenue Northwest, which belonged to the woman’s parents.
Things appeared to be going well until 3:15 a.m., when the victim allegedly told King he looked like a celebrity. King took offense to the remark and followed the victim to a car.
When close to the car, King punched the victim in the face, police said.
The victim told police he tried to get in the car’s passenger side door, lock himself in and call 911. But as he was making the call, King pulled the victim out of the car from the driver’s side door and began punching him in the face.
After the attack, the victim told police the homeowners helped him into the home but refused to call police. Instead they told him they’d drop him off at his house. However, when the victim initially tried to call 911, authorities were able to track the phone’s location and send an officer.
When police arrived at the scene, the homeowner said there had been no problem at the party and that no one needed help. As the homeowner spoke with police, the victim was inside his home, suffering from his injuries.
Police arrested King at the house without incident. He denied that he punched the victim, saying that he just fell over while the two were talking.
If King is to be charged, the Anoka County Attorney’s Office will file them early next week.
King is from Liburne, Ga.
The celebrity King was compared to is not known.
