By admin 
An attack on two women outside a Lavender Heights nightclub early Monday, days after a member of the city’s LGBTQ community was assaulted, stoked new safety concerns in the midtown Sacramento neighborhood.
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“We take this incident extremely seriously,” said Brian Aranda, director of operations for Badlands nightclub in the 2000 block of K Street, in a statement Tuesday.
The women were walking outside the K Street club about 2:40 a.m. Monday when they were assaulted, according to the Sacramento Police Department.
One of the women was injured and treated at the scene. She told authorities a phone and hat had been taken before the attackers fled on 20th Street, according to dispatch audio reviewed by The Sacramento Bee.
Aranda said Badlands management and employees saw the attack unfold on the nightclub’s surveillance system and went outside to break it up and call 911. Club managers remained at the scene until police arrived, Aranda said.
Badlands shared security footage with investigators and planned to increase security after closing hours, Aranda said.
“The safety of our guests, employees and the entire Lavender Heights community remains our highest priority,” the statement continued. “We are increasing our security presence after closing to monitor the surrounding area, discourage loitering and help ensure people leave safely. We are also continuing to review additional safety measures.”
The Monday attack, along with another assault the previous weekend in the same area, renewed concerns about safety in the center of Sacramento’s LGBTQ community.
Joseph “Joey” Sais said earlier this month that a group of men yelled homophobic and racist slurs as he left Badlands and a neighboring nightclub, Faces, then chased him before punching him and knocking him to the ground. Sais’ head hit the concrete during the attack before his friend pulled the attacker off him, he told The Bee afterward.
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Sacramento police are investigating Sais’ attack as a felony assault but have yet made no arrests as of Tuesday.
The attack on Sais, a Sacramento City Hall employee and liaison to City Councilmember Eric Guerra, colored an otherwise joyous and defiant Rainbow Festival this weekend in the midtown neighborhood. Many festivalgoers said they would not be cowed by the violence, even as they called for safety improvements in Lavender Heights, including better lighting and security cameras.
“Coming out here today, it is an act of rebellion and strength,” festivalgoer Madi Winter told The Bee. “Our community has come too far to live in constant fear.”
Sacramento officials promised lighting improvements and placed surveillance cameras at 20th and L streets in response to calls for improved safety.
The latest attack came nearly a year after the brutal Halloween beating of 58-year-old Alvin Prasad in an alleged homophobic hate attack. The Nov. 1, 2025, beating left Prasad in a coma until his death in late December. He left behind two daughters and two granddaughters.
Sacramento’s LGBTQ community voiced their fears and frustration to city leaders after Prasad’s attack, with many calling for more to be done to keep the community safe.
Prasad’s alleged attacker faced an October trial in Sacramento Superior Court on charges stemming from the fatal beating. Sean Wesley Payton, 25, was released from Sacramento County custody in late February while awaiting an Oct. 1 court date.
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