A man in Huntington Beach, California is in critical condition today after being mercilessly beaten by a group of teens.

The man intervened after his girlfriend tried to break up a fight between the teens and they turned on her. Authorities say he was chased to a nearby laundry, where the group beat him with skateboards. Four suspects were arrested on charges of attempted murder; all of them were juveniles who were already on probation for other offenses.

The 25-year old victim is said to be undergoing surgery for his injuries; witnesses say the beating was intense.

“I was so scared, so I locked the door. They used their skateboards to beat the boy in the head,” said Sandy Nguyen, who works at a nail salon near the laundry.

The victim’s identity is not being released at this time due to an ongoing investigation; police say there may be more arrests this week.