HUNTINGTON BEACH–
A 17-year-old teenager was stabbed twice when he
and his brother-in-law were walking home in Huntington Beach,

The two males were confronted by three adults.

Karam Jarrah said he and his
brother-in-law, Asem Dghem,  were
speaking Arabic when a man, now identified as 25-year-old Martin Roman,
confronted them.

“Was it like a racial
issue? Is it because we were speaking Arabic or it can be like just the way we
look,” Jarrah told KABC-TV.

Roman was with his wife Jessica, and
28-year-old brother, an off-duty Police officer from Illinois.

The incident happened Sunday
afternoon in the parking lot outside of a 24 Hour Fitness Center as the brother-in
laws walked by the three suspects sitting in their car.

“He was like, ‘What’s up
‘obamabam?’ I don’t even know what that means,” Jarrah recalled. “So,
I said, ‘What?’ and he said, ‘What’s up ‘obamabam?’ He said it like he was
mad.”

Depsite some hostility, the
teenager said he was being very friendly towards them. But
the confrontation escalated and Roman got out of his vehicle and pulled out a
knife, stabbing Jarrah twice.

“When I stood up, it was
just like a fountain squirting blood, like blood everywhere,” said Jarrah,
who was transported to a local hospital.

The three suspects took off in
their car but were arrested a short time later.

Jarrah and his family said
they can’t believe a cop was part of the violent attack.

“They have to actually
protect us, not stab us,” Dghem said. “He’s a police officer,
actually, he’s supposed to be role model.”

The three suspects now face
felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon as well as battery. Police said
the incident remains under investigation.

 Investigators have not
confirmed that the attack was motivated by race.