A man who was beaten during a party at a St. Paul hotel died Friday morning, police said.

The 50-year-old victim had been taken from La Quinta Inn & Suites, 1870 Old Hudson Road, to Regions Hospital about 3 a.m. Thursday with a severe head injury.

Five people have been arrested, and police continue to investigate, police spokesman Sgt. Paul Schnell said.

There were no charges filed Friday.

"Investigators still don't know who's friend or foe in this deal yet," he said.

Schnell said that about 13 people, some of them teenagers and many without permanent addresses, were drinking heavily before "an apparent dispute over minor issues escalated into a fight." The victim was kicked repeatedly in the head and face.

His name was being withheld until family members are notified.

Schnell said that the Ramsey County medical examiner's office had yet to rule on a cause of death but that police were treating it as "probable homicide."

The five men arrested range in age from 18 to 43.

Schnell said that everyone attending the party "had a degree of familiarity with one another."

According to a police report, a second person also was taken to a hospital with face and torso injuries. His injuries were not life-threatening, Schnell said.

ANTHONY LONETREE