This is a weird story. Gavin DeGraw, the singer best knows for such hits as ????? got his ass handed to him early Monday morning. The basic story is that Gavin was drinking with friends in the Lower East Side on NYC. Gavin left alone (presumably) and he was attacked by a gang of thugs sometime around 4:30 a.m. After the thugs beat him up, breaking his nose and cutting up his face but not robbing him, Gavin then tried to walk it off, I guess, and he wandered into the street where he was clipped by a taxi. What in the world?

Pop singer Gavin DeGraw was viciously beaten by a pack of thugs on the Lower East Side early today — and then hit by a taxi as he stumbled off, police sources said.

The 34-year-old crooner — who’s spent the summer opening for superstar rockers Maroon 5 and Train — had been drinking and just left a group of pals when he was attacked by the marauding perps sometime between 3:50 and 4:20 a.m. at 6th Street and 1st Avenue, the sources said.

He had his nose broken and suffered cuts on his face, they said.

The creeps then fled, and the dazed singer, whose hit song “Chariot” went platinum, kept walking, sources said.

He wound up at 19th Street and 1st Avenue, where he was struck by a cab, although not seriously, they said.

He remained in Bellevue Hospital tonight.

The sources said the attack did not appear to be a robbery.

DeGraw, who hails from upstate South Fallsburg, has a Manhattan pad. He and his brother also own a bar, the National Underground, on East Houston Street.

[From The NY Post]

My guess is that the subtext of the “walking it off” part of the story is that Gavin was either not badly injured at first, or he didn’t realize how badly he was hurt, or that he was just in shock. Or he was just too drunk and numb to really “get” what happened. But he didn’t have a cell phone to call 911? It’s all so weird.

People Mag has more details – Gavin was definitely alone when he was assaulted, and the police came when “someone” called 911 saying that “there was a man with blood on his shirt who appeared to be heavily intoxicated”. Gavin’s rep says: “Gavin DeGraw was assaulted … and was taken to the emergency room at Bellevue Hospital by ambulance. He is currently under observation. We have no additional information at this time.” Poor Gavin.

UPDATE: Even People Mag thinks there’s something fishy about the story – People just released a new article about Gavin’s beatdown, and their police sources claim that Gavin was able to get ONE MILE from the scene of his beatdown to the place where the taxi hit him:

It was sometime around 4:00 a.m. Monday that Gavin DeGraw was walking through New York’s East Village when “some kind of argument” broke out between him and a group of men he didn’t know, according to a police source.

The words escalated to violence and soon the “I Don’t Want to Be” singer was under attack by what New York newspapers are describing as a gang of thugs.

The dazed and badly injured DeGraw then somehow ended up about a mile away, only to be clipped by a taxi.

Someone called 911 and DeGraw was rushed by ambulance to Bellevue Hospital’s emergency room where he was treated for a broken nose, concussion and facial lacerations. He’s now in stable condition and under observation.

More than a day later, a number or questions remain about the attack, including the identity of the assailants, a motive for the violence, what DeGraw was doing on the streets early in the morning and how he was able get so far before the taxi incident.

His reps have only released two brief statements, one of them ending with: “We have no additional details at this time.”

According to police sources, DeGraw’s recollections are clouded by his head injuries and the possibility he was intoxicated at the time. Police are hoping to find witnesses and security camera footage to fill in the gaps.

What is known is that DeGraw, who has a new album coming out next month and who has been touring with Train and Maroon 5, was apparently out alone at the time of the assault on the corner of 6th Street and 1st Avenue. Why he was there at that hour remains under investigation, but DeGraw is a New York City resident and the attack site was close to a club he co-owns with his brother called the National Underground, where he was spotted Sunday night.

DeGraw told police that he encountered at least three individuals; various news reports say they were all men. A police source tells PEOPLE the “assailants were unknown to victim” and that DeGraw “can’t clearly recall” what they argued about.

After the assault, DeGraw then was next seen at 19th Street and 1st Avenue, 13 blocks away. Police sources say a 911 caller reported a man with a bloody shirt who appeared to be heavily intoxicated.

By Tuesday morning, his reps issued an updated statement: “Gavin DeGraw is currently recovering and in stable condition at Bellevue Hospital where he was taken … by ambulance after he was attacked by a group of assailants. He suffers from a concussion, broken nose, black eyes, cuts and bruises. The police are conducting an investigation of the attack.

“Gavin and his family appreciate everyone’s concern at this time. We have no information yet regarding his upcoming concert dates and promotion for his new album.”

[From People]

He doesn’t remember anything? Cough-drugs-cough? Actually, when I used to get really hammered, I would get into verbal disagreements with anybody and everybody, and I could never remember exactly what went down either. Maybe Gavin was just blackout drunk. I’m surprised Levi Johnston didn’t have sex with him.

Photos courtesy of WENN.