In a crime caught on camera cellphone camera, a girl is beaten by skateboarders in Venice. Jane Yamamoto reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Friday, March 27, 2015.
Police are seeking a "large group" who used skateboards to attack a teen girl and her friends in a brutal assault caught on video.
In the cellphone the girl is shown being attacked, hit in the head with a skateboard and then another person kicks her. The attack took place at the 5200 block of Windward Avenue at around 8:55 p.m. Thursday, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said.
Armani Smith, an avid skateboarder, did not witness the attack, however people who did were too scared to talk on camera.
"(The attack is) really upsetting. It's shocking," Smith said.
Police say it all started after the band of friends got into an argument with another large group a nearby popular Venice skatepark.
The victims -- three males and two females -- tried to run away from a group of people at the there, but could not escape and were attacked in the street less than 100 yards away.
Police say some of the victims suffered serious injuries including cuts, bruises and a broken jaw.
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Lt. Aaron Ponce from the LAPD's Pacific Division says detectives are reviewing video posted on social media to identify and track down the suspects. One person is heard shouting at the victims, "Go back home."
Police are not classifying it as a gang crime, but say it may have been an argument about people not from the area hanging out at the skatepark.
Police said they have been beefing up patrols in the boardwalk since Thursday night.
