Local News in Brief : Huntington Beach : Youth, 17, Is Attacked in Dispute Over a Girl

A dispute over a girlfriend was blamed for an attack on a 17-year-old Huntington Beach High School student, who was knocked to the ground and cut on the face and chest by several people, police said Friday.

David Wallace was walking across the campus near the football field Thursday afternoon when a group of attackers came up behind him and hit him on the head, knocking him to the ground, where they continued to hit and kick him, Police Lt. John Foster said.

The assailants then ripped Wallace’s shirt and scratched three X’s about 6 inches long on his chest, Foster said. Wallace’s face also was cut by attackers, who apparently used a small knife.

Wallace told police that he could not identify his attackers because he was semiconscious after they hit him on the head. He told officers, however, that some students had been bothering him recently because of a conflict he had with another student over a girl, Foster said.

“It’s a girlfriend/ex-boyfriend revenge deal,” Foster said. “He had some problems with some students. . . . We assume it’s the same pack he’s been dealing with.”

Wallace was treated at Pacifica Community Hospital in Huntington Beach and released. Foster said the cuts were superficial and did not require stitches.