DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A security contractor says in the wake of a violent attack on a couple out on a date that providing safety for downtown Des Moines’ skywalk system has gotten tougher in recent years. Tom Conley is president of Conley Group, which has been providing security services for the skywalk since 2002. He told The Des Moines Register that thousands more people live downtown than did decades ago, and the system of bridges connecting downtown buildings is no longer almost exclusively for daytime commercial traffic.

Police say a 21-year-old man and his girlfriend were attacked by 20 to 30 teens or young men just before 9 p.m. Saturday in the skywalk near the downtown Wellmark YMCA. A witness told police the man was pinned to skywalk glass and kicked and punched. The woman fell to the floor after also being punched. Conley says the nonprofit organization that manages the skywalk has slashed the budget for security officers.