Teen e-bike riders allegedly attack man along Huntington Beach's boardwalk

A handful of teenage e-bike riders are accused of attacking a Huntington Beach man along the city's boardwalk last Saturday night. 

Sam El-Said and his wife were riding scooters after a date night along the boardwalk when a swarm of several dozen teenagers on e-bikes sped by them. 

"Because there was so much activity, we slowed down," says El-Said. 

El-Said added that one of the teens threw a glass bottle at his face, shattering it in his eye. After falling to the ground, he said a few of the boys began punching and kicking him in the head and back. 

"There were moments there that I don't remember anything," El-Said recalled. "I blacked out."

After a few minutes, El-Said says he was able to get up and see the crowd scatter, but not before suffering several injuries.

"This black eye just kind of formed. This bruising up and over," says El-Said. "There's another laceration on the top here."

Residents said violent altercations involving mobs of teens on e-bikes are becoming more common on the boardwalk. 

"They are actually looking like they were hunting people to go beat up," resident Matthew LaCapria said. "I guess the guy said slow down, and they went up on them and beat them up."

The Huntington Beach Police Department detained at least one teen but said several others got away. 

As an avid scooter and e-bike rider himself, El-Said doesn't want an outright ban on e-bikes on the boardwalk. He said he just wants the teens to have respect for fellow riders. 

"The hope is that by holding these kids accountable, this will change the future perspectives of what these kids will continue doing," he said. "I'm doing this because I don't want anyone else to get hurt coming to the beach."

Huntington Beach police said one teen has been cited for misdemeanor battery. Investigators are working with school resource officers to track down the other teens who may have been involved.