Machete attack Otay Mesa
An officer puts up crime scene tape at the site of the stabbing in Otay Mesa. Photo via OnScene.TV.

A man possibly trying to break into a car in an Otay Mesa-area neighborhood early Monday attacked the owner of the vehicle with a machete after the victim confronted him, authorities said.

The 20-year-old victim was at a social gathering in the 3000 block of Magellan Street when someone told him a person was outside “messing with his car” about 3:30 a.m., San Diego police Officer Sarah Foster said.

The vehicle owner went outside and confronted the unidentified suspect, who responded by pulling a machete and slashing him repeatedly before running off, according to Foster.

Paramedics took the victim to a hospital for treatment of injuries of undisclosed severity.

City News Service contributed to this article.