The 37-year-old man who was beaten in Portland early today provided "useful information" to police before he died in the hospital, Interim Police Chief Joseph Loughlin said.

Police are looking for eight suspects, believed to be teenagers and young men.

A weapon was involved, Loughlin said, but he declined to identify what type.

The early-morning crime left many in the Kennedy Park neighborhood restless.

Catherine Vance, who has lived there for more than 20 years, was among several neighbors who said it's hard to feel safe in a neighborhood where fights, shootings and other violence seems so common.

"Ask any person who lives in this neighborhood if they feel safe when they go to bed and they'll say no," she said.

3:40 p.m.

Portland police said a 37-year-old man died shortly after being beaten by a "pack" of teenagers and young men near Kennedy Park.

Interim Police Chief Joseph Loughlin said the assault took place about 2 a.m. Saturday on a soccer field near the housing project.

The victim was a 37-year-old transient, Loughlin said. The name is not being released immediately, he said.

Loughlin said witnesses saw the victim run across the soccer field until he was cornered by the eight assailants. The eight, who appeared to range in age from under 16 to about 25 years old, beat him until the man was able to crawl under a fence onto the sidewalk on Fox Street.

Eight detectives are working on the case because of the nature of the crime, Loughlin said.

"It's very serious and we're concerned," he said.