An East County teen is home and resting comfortably following an altercation last weekend at a Discovery Bay night club, where the l9-year-old Liberty High School graduate was stabbed eight times in the stomach and back.

Brentwood resident Keith Snyder was attacked by an unknown assailant at 11:48 p.m. Friday with a pocket knife while on the dance floor of the Bayside Bar and Grill on Marina Boulevard.

Snyder was airlifted to John Muir Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery. He was released Tuesday afternoon.

According to Contra Costa County Sheriff spokesperson Jimmy Lee, the weapon was recovered by Sheriff's deputies in a nearby lagoon. The suspect is still at large and the cause of the attack remains under investigation.

"We are looking at an assault with a deadly weapon charge and we hope to have the suspect in custody soon," said Lee. "For whatever reason, the victim was stabbed by the suspect and we're continuing to follow up on a number of leads."

Devin Einfeldt, a friend of Snyder present during the attack, said the stabbing was unprovoked. "I was just dancing next to Keith on the dance floor and all of a sudden everything just started happening," said Einfelt, l9. "We don't know who the guy was or why he acted like that. It was pretty scary."

Bayside Bar and Grill has been a point of contention in the quiet waterfront community since the establishment opened its doors last year. Some residents have expressed concern over the loud noise and potential for violence at the club.

But Bayside owner and Discovery Bay resident Darlene Meckes, who also owns a nearby sports bar and steakhouse, said this is the first occurrence of violence at the restaurant. Meckes and her husband Bob immediately closed the grill following the episode and say the doors will remain shut permanently.

"We're appalled by what happened and we have terminated our lease and shut down for good," said Meckes. "Our intent was to have a place where the kids out here could come once a month or so to dance and socialize; there's no place for kids to gather out here. But this turned into something else by kids from out of town and we just can't risk any more danger. We're just very thankful that he's (Snyder) OK. We wish him the best."

Those with information about the incident are urged to call the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department at 313-2600.