The NYPD is hunting for a group of men who they say viciously attacked a merchant on a busy shopping strip. NY1's Dean Meminger filed the following report.

A brutal beating was caught on video, as a street vendor was knocked unconscious by several attackers. 

Soulyemane Porgo was jumped after one of the menu allegedly tried to steal one of the handbags he was selling on 149th Street and Third Avenue.  

"He comes out every day. He sets up and sells his stuff. He's out here every day doing his hustle. But I mean, for somebody to try to steal something from you and you almost lose your life, that is horrible," said one person in the neighborhood.

A close look at the video shows Porgo fighting one of the men when another man sucker punches him. Five men then take turns hitting him while he is on the ground.  

Porgo is an immigrant from Burkina Faso in West Africa who has been a street vendor in the area for many years. 

The attack happened Tuesday at around 5 p.m. in front of a large crowd on the shopping strip.

Charles Cooper, the head of the Bronx African Advisory Council, says Porgo was beaten in front of his family.  

"See this happen in front of his wife and his children. That should never happen nowhere within New York City, nowhere within our district.  And we need to stop this now," Cooper said. "The community wants justice."

He says Porgo suffered brain damage and needed an operation.

Police released photos of the men they believe are responsible for the attack.

A food vendor who works on the same corner as Porgo considers him a close friend.

"I feel no good too. This is very bad," the vendor said.. He has the little two kids. Two small kids." 

With the major hustle and bustle of 149th Street, people say there's always some sort of controversy jumping off.

"The very next day, somebody stole something, and they came all the way down here and was fighting, and the police came and everything," said one person in the neighborhood. "It's not good. It is not a good thing."

People here say Porgo was a well-liked presence in the neighborhood. And they say some of his attackers are known here, too.