Man dies after being hit in head with skateboard during fight in Santa Ana Starbucks

A man was killed after being hit in the head with a skateboard in an act of self-defense during a fight in a Santa Ana Starbucks.

Around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, a fight broke out between two men in the 3300 block of South Bristol Street. Authorities received calls regarding an assault with a deadly weapon inside the Starbucks.

After authorities arrived, a man in his 50s was transported to Orange County Global Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries.

The witness added that the man walked into the store, approached the younger man who was with his girlfriend seated at a table and began acting aggressively toward him, which may have led to the confrontation.

“Who started the fight, why it happened – those are all things that are going to have to come up, but we have to go through the process of interviewing all the witnesses,” SAPD Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.

Gomez said she tried to comfort the skateboarder after the victim was transported to the hospital. She said she assured the young man that he had done nothing wrong and that the victim seemed to be looking for a fight.

Two things:

First, this blog unequivocally supports the right to self defense.  If you are attacked, fight back with the force required to save yourself.  Fight with what you have.  We believe in gun rights, but California doesn’t.  In this case, what the defender had was a skateboard.

Second, this confirms what we have been saying, a skateboard is a deadly weapon when used that way.  It’s a very hard, very strong, heavy piece of plywood.  It can easily crack a skull and cause fatal brain damage, especially if swung like a sword for a side (edge) on strike.

Unlike other more common makeshift sporting good weapons (bats, clubs, etc), the skateboard seems to fly under the radar.

But do not underestimate the lethality of the skateboard.

Beware of those with skateboards and malicious intent.