Skateboarders fighting over an iPod turned on a man who tried to fend off the teens with a screwdriver, sending him to the hospital with critical injuries, police and a witness said on Sunday.
The fight broke out Friday night at Murdy Park in Huntington Beach between two groups of as many as 40 skateboarders, police said.
The teens turned on a woman who tried to break up the fight and when the woman's boyfriend intervened, the juveniles chased him to a nearby coin-operated laundry where they allegedly beat him with their skateboards, Huntington Beach police Lt. Chad Nichols told the Orange County Register.
Collin Mammolite, 19, who saw the fight, said the woman's boyfriend came armed with a screwdriver and went after one of the teens.
When police arrived the boys scattered, but authorities captured seven boys they suspect were involved in the crime. Police eventually booked four of the seven youths on attempted murder charges.
"The kids they arrested had nothing to do with it," Mammolite said.
Investigators said the juveniles used their skateboards as weapons but Mammolite said the teens were using the skateboards to defend themselves.
The injured man was taken to UCI Medical Center where he was in critical condition, Nichols said.
Anyone with information on this assault was asked call Huntington Beach police Detective Pat Ellis at (714) 536-5971.
Photo Credit: Getty Images