A man leaving the State Fair with a friend was attacked blocks from the fairgrounds Saturday after walking by what relatives described as a "party house." By the time police arrived to an attack they described as brutal, 48-year-old Michael Donnelly was unconscious.

Donnelly, of Little Canada, remained in critical condition Monday at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, according to authorities and relatives.

"Hopefully he is going to come out of it. He isn't in very good shape now," said Beverly Donnelly, his mother. "He looks horrible, and he's in a coma. We're praying, you know?"

Police were summoned to the area near Albert Street and Breda Avenue about 12:30 a.m. Saturday on a report of a man who was critically injured and unconscious, St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders said.

Donnelly, a plumber, was leaving the fair with a friend when they passed the house, his mother said. The people at the house "wouldn't leave them alone," she said.

"His head definitely got hit by something," Donnelly said, describing the situation as terrible.

No arrests have been made and investigators are working to find out what led up to the assault, Linders said.

"It was brutal, and that's what has us concerned," Linders said. "That's why we need to talk to anybody who knows anything."

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call St. Paul police at 651-266-5650.

Staff writer Karen Zamora contributed to this report. Hannah Covington • 612-673-4751