Lawrence police continued to search Monday for suspects in a stabbing that left a 19-year-old man with serious injuries.

Officers were dispatched to West Sixth Street and Monterey Way just after 2:20 a.m. Sunday on a reported stabbing.

Upon arrival officers found the victim had been beaten and stabbed multiple times during what is thought to be an attempted robbery, Lawrence Police Department spokesman Sgt. Trent McKinley said. It is unclear whether the suspects took anything from the victim.

Police suspect the incident began after the victim left a nightclub in the 1000 block of Massachusetts Street just before 2 a.m., McKinley said. The victim talked to some individuals before entering a vehicle with a woman and two men near the nightclub, McKinley said.

As the vehicle cruised through downtown, the three suspects told the victim their intent to rob him and began beating the man, McKinley said. The vehicle stopped briefly near Eighth and Rhode Island streets and the victim attempted to run away, McKinley said. The suspects then fought the victim and pulled him back into the vehicle.

Lawrence resident Christine Davisson said she and her husband called police after witnessing “several guys” beating up a man in downtown Lawrence sometime after 2 a.m.

“When we stopped our car to yell at them to stop, we called the police while they all jumped into their dark colored car and proceeded to pull the bloodied guy into the backseat,” Davisson said.

The men then drove off while the victim screamed for help, Davisson said.

“It was absolutely awful and we felt completely helpless,” Davisson said. “I hope this isn’t the direction Lawrence is headed.”

The vehicle is described as a dark colored older sedan in good condition, McKinley said.

The victim was eventually able to escape the vehicle in a residential area near Eighth Street and Monterey Way, McKinley said. The suspects fled in an unknown direction in the suspect vehicle, McKinley said, as the victim fled on foot.

The man sustained numerous serious injuries, including stab wounds — at least one in the chest. No arrests had been made as of Monday afternoon. The victim was being treated at Lawrence Memorial hospital Sunday evening and was in stable condition. Neither the man’s name nor a condition update could be released Monday, hospital officials said.

A resident in the area told police of being awakened by banging on door around 2:20 a.m. Sunday, but the knocker had left by the time the resident got to the door, McKinley said. Later that morning, the resident found blood on the home’s porch and reported it to police, McKinley said.

Residents who may have witnessed the crime on Massachusetts Street, near Eighth and Rhode Island streets or in the area west of Eighth Street and Monterey Way where the victim escaped his attackers are asked to check the areas outside their homes for possible evidence, McKinley said.

Those who see anything that may be related to the case should call police at (785) 832-7509.

“We want people to know if they see something or notice something, it may be related to a pretty serious crime,” McKinley said.