Palo Alto police are looking for two men who they said robbed, punched and slashed a man who was visiting Robles Park with his young child Thursday evening.

The robbery occurred Thursday night, as the man and the child were leaving the park at Park Boulevard, between West Meadow Drive and Charleston Road. According to the police, two men approached them, one armed with a handgun and another one armed with a knife. The man with the knife demanded personal property from the father, while his accomplice pointed the black handgun at him, police said.

During the robbery, the victim positioned himself between the two robbers and the child, police said. Even though he cooperated and handed over his property, the man with the knife punched him in the face and slashed him in the forearm with the knife. The child, whose gender and age the police are not releasing, was not harmed. The attack caused only a superficial wound, which was later treated at the scene by the Palo Alto Fire Department.

After the robbery, both men ran away from the scene, police said. Meanwhile, the victim – a man in his 30s – ran with the child to a nearby residence and called the police. Officers, who got the call at 8:43 p.m., responded immediately but could not find either suspect.

The victim described the suspect with the knife as a Hispanic male in his mid-20s, about 5 feet 9 inches tall and 180 pounds. He was clean-shaven, had short dark hair and was wearing a brown shirt and black pants. The second suspect was described as a black male in his mid-20s, about 6 feet 1 inch tall and about 200 pounds. He was also clean shaven, had short dark hair and was wearing a black T-shirt and black pants.

Police are investigating whether the Thursday night robbery is connected to another robbery that involved two suspects that took place Monday near downtown Palo Alto. They are also increasing patrols in neighborhoods and parks in response to the robbery.

Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call the department's dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent by text message or voice mil to 650-383-8984.