I used to work in an area that was one of the most dangerous spots on the West Coast. One time I got up in the middle of the night to ask the other guys to turn the volume down on the TV. They were all laying on the floor because there was a gun fight taking place in the front yard of the fire station.
We used to respond frequently to people who didn't know their way around and had wandered into a bad situation. But at that time it was a block by block problem and it was always changing. So it was hard for people to know where it was dangerous.
At that time a typical tactic was for a group of black guys to step out into the street to stop cars and then break the side windows, drag the occupants out, beat rob and sometimes stab or shoot them and then take off with their vehicle. Sometimes they would just wait at traffic signals or stop signs. This took place quick enough that the victims had no clue what had just happened and were completely disoriented when we got there.
It would be nice to credit the police with chasing them off, but after a shoot out with some soldiers, most of the miscreants just started moving to places with easier “pickins”.
Sounds like the Reginald Denny beating.