WESTMINSTER : Stabbing Victim, 18, Remains Hospitalized

An 18-year-old man remained hospitalized with multiple stab wounds Tuesday, after he and a companion were attacked the previous night by gang members in Sigler Park, police said.

The attackers mistakenly believed the two young men were members of another gang, said Westminster Police Officer Greg Jackson. He said the case is under investigation as an attempted murder. No one has been arrested.

Jackson said witnesses reported that the stabbing victim, Quintin Roman of Huntington Beach, was standing with Ricardo Cruz, 24, also of Huntington Beach, near a basketball court when several gang members accused them of being members of another gang.

After the two men denied belonging to a gang, Jackson said, witnesses saw their accusers leave the area. But about 15 minutes later when Roman and Cruz walked to their car, they were attacked by 10 to 12 gang members, he said, who stabbed Roman and beat Cruz repeatedly with a baseball bat.

Roman and Cruz were driven by a family member to Huntington Beach Medical Center, where personnel at about 10 p.m. reported the beating and stabbing to police. Cruz was treated and released, Jackson said, while Roman was transferred to the trauma unit at UCI Medical Center in Orange.