Seattle police seek witnesses to Sunday morning attack in Belltown

Seattle police are searching for witnesses to an attack in Belltown early Sunday morning that began with racial remarks and left a University of Washington physician in critical condition.

Peter Choi, 36, who is Korean, and four friends, also of Asian descent, were leaving a sushi restaurant when a group of men began harassing them with racial language, said Choi's girlfriend, Jane Song, 27. Choi and the men then got in a yelling match.

The men followed the group to Third Avenue and Cedar Street, where one of the men punched Choi in the face, one of Choi's friends said. The blow knocked him backward and he hit his head on the pavement, causing a severe head injury, Seattle police said.

"It wasn't like there was a fight. There wasn't a two-way thing. We were walking down the street; there was some yelling, and then Peter got assaulted," Song said.

The men and several witnesses fled before police arrived. The men involved were described only as white.

Choi has undergone two neurosurgeries since Sunday morning, said his sister, Amy Choi, 29, who lives with him.

He was listed in serious condition in the intensive-care unit at Harborview Medical Center on Tuesday night, according to a hospital official.

Choi has worked at several hospitals around Seattle in the past several years, Amy Choi said.

Police are asking anyone with information about the attack to call Seattle police detectives at 206-684-5550.

Haley Edwards: 206-464-2745 or hedwards@seattletimes.com

Haley Edwards: 206-464-2745 or hedwards@seattletimes.com