SEATTLE - A young man who was brutally attacked on Beacon Hill is in serious condition at the hospital on what would have been his college graduation day.

Prosecutors say 25-year-old Dawit Alemu was caught up in a robbery and a beating so vicious, he was barely alive when it was all over.

So instead of receiving his degree from Seattle Central Community College on Saturday, he's fighting major injuries in the intensive care unit at Harborview Medical Center.

Despite that, the college definitely had Alemu on its mind at the graduation ceremony. Before students walked to the graduation stage, the president asked people to come together for a special prayer and remember Alemu in their thoughts.

"I would like for all of us to take a moment here and send up very powerful, powerful energy to Dawit today, hoping that he will improve," said Seattle Central Community College President Dr. Mildred Ollee.

Graduation was supposed to be a huge step for Alemu, who had already been accepted to the University of Washington, where he planned to continue his studies.

That was all cut short Thursday night when five or six men jumped him on the street outside his home in the 1900 block of 13th Avenue South in Beacon Hill.

Witnesses say even after he was beaten unconscious, the attackers kept kicking him in the head on the ground.

When police arrived, the group of men scattered and fled, but officers were able to collar two of the them and place them under arrest. Three or four others remain at large.

Police said it appears the victim did not know his attackers. Once Alemu was knocked unconscious, his attackers stole his belongings and fled, police said.

"It appears to be unprovoked," said police spokesman Jeff Kappel. "He was just attacked, and then robbed."

Alemu never regained consciousness after the attack. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. He now is reported to be in serious but stable condition.

The two suspects in custody - Justin Lee Phillips, 20, and Kenneth Anthony Fischer, 19 - were booked into King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

Neighbors in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, meanwhile, are anxious for police to nab the remaining suspects on the loose. They said a recent crime wave has been stirring up trouble in the area.