Man brutally attacked while cleaning beach in Santa Monica, LA

A Good Samaritan was brutally beaten – and nearly died – over the weekend while picking up trash on Santa Monica’s famous beach.

Venice resident Josey Peters, who has been collecting trash from the sand for nearly two decades, was attacked around 6:30 p.m. Saturday by a young man dressed all in black “like a ninja,” he told KTLA.

“He could have killed me. His first blow hit me in the temple, on the side of my head, and I lost consciousness,” Peters said. “He easily could have killed me.”

Peters, who has received recognition for his good deeds from publications such as the Los Angeles Times, was working near a lifeguard tower when the attacker approached him without warning and attacked him.

“He had what looked like a large nose piercing sticking out through his face mask. He looked unusual, but there are a lot of unusual people here. It doesn’t bother me,” Peters said.

“Suddenly I was unconscious and lying on the ground. This guy hit me on the side of the head with a martial arts baton.”

Witnesses later told Peters that the stranger, dressed in black, struck him repeatedly before fleeing the scene.

A lifeguard on duty who heard the distress call over the radio told KTLA that the attacker used a baseball bat in the unprovoked attack.

Peters suffered serious injuries from the blows, including broken and bruised ribs, a broken collarbone, bruises on the left side of his face and a concussion.

“This guy wasn’t ranting, he wasn’t ranting, he wasn’t crazy,” he said, pondering why he was targeted.

Meanwhile, Peters remains determined to keep the beach clean.

“I care about the environment and it won’t keep me away from the beach,” he said. “I’ll be more mindful.”

The Santa Monica Police Department is investigating the incident.