Teens who allegedly beat man with skateboards arrested in Calif.

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., May 13 (UPI) — Four Huntington Beach, Calif., teenagers were charged with attempted murder for allegedly beating a man with their skateboards, police said.

Investigators said as many as 40 people, in two groups, were involved in a fight in the community’s Murdy Park Friday evening. When a woman attempted to intervene, some members of the crowd turned on her boyfriend.

Five to 10 teens chased the man into a nearby Laundromat and at least four beat him with their skateboards, police said.

The victim, whose name was not released, underwent emergency surgery and was listed in critical condition, KABC-TV, Los Angeles, reported Monday.

“It was a very brutal attack. We have no reason to believe that the victim had anything to do with these groups before he tried to intervene,’ said Lt. Bo Svendsbo of the Huntington Beach Police Department.

The father of one of the teens charged, identified only as Richard, claimed the victim had attacked one of the boys first, and carried a screwdriver and a knife as weapons in the park, KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, said.

“The man came trying to stab him,” Richard said in reference to his son. “He ran from the man.”