A 26-year-old Santa Cruz man was stabbed twice near a Pacific Avenue nightclub early Saturday morning, according to police.

At 1:45 a.m., an officer was flagged down by a bouncer at a nightclub on the 1200 block of Pacific Ave. The bouncer witnessed a stabbing in Pearl Alley, police said.

Lt. Rick Martinez said both the victim and attacker fled but officers found a folding knife on the bottom level of the parking structure on Walnut Avenue.

An hour after the initial call, the victim turned up at Dominican Hospital where he was treated for two non-life-threatening stab wounds to his chest and shoulder, Martinez said.

The victim told police he was jumped by six men in the alley. Martinez said the victim was uncooperative, and the stabbing was gang-related. The victim is known to have gang ties, according to police.

"Lots of violence in downtown stems from alcohol and gangs," Martinez said. "We have some major nightclubs in the tri-county area so we have gangs coming from all three counties. No matter how much security is put in place, it still takes a lot of resources to manage the amount of people exiting the nightclubs at closing. We throw every resource we have out there and just hope for the best."