Teens sought in brutal beating
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Teens sought in brutal beating
Do you know these teenagers?
Police are searching for a group of six who they said attacked a 64-year-old Vietnam War veteran for apparently no reason in Northwest Philadelphia Tuesday evening.
The victim was walking on the 5000 block of N. 5th Street, in the city's Olney section, around 6 p.m., on his way to a bus stop. The teenagers were walking a ways behind him when they decided, "just for sport, to beat this guy down," said Philadelphia Lt. George McClay, of the Northwest detective division.
"One kid breaks off from the pack, beats this guy down, and the rest of them join in," McClay said.
The victim was taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center with serious injuries to his head, face and hand. The assault was so severe that McClay said police intend to charge the perpetrators with attemped murder.
"Someone knows these kids," McClay said. "They're from the neighborhood, we know they are. We're looking for one or two names...This behavior can't be let go."
The attackers, who were caught on a surveillance camera in the area, were described as 16 to 18 years old, black and Hispanic. One was wearing an orange hooded sweatshirt and jeans. Anyone with information is asked to call police.
The victim served in Vietnam until he was shot in the eye, McClay said. Since then he has worked in veterans support services, helping others find jobs.
Excuse me,I'm about to vomit. What is with all these cowards surfacing.How dare they devalue someones life,just because they are worthless parasites.— marcie- Will the mayor will get on t.v. calling these kids obscene names or is this story not big enough for him to grandstand? Another ho-hum day in Philly...— gilligan
- Go ahead victim blamers - what did this man do wrong? He didn't yell, so maybe he glanced back - would he dare be so disrespectful? Lyn, where are you? Tell us we don't understand the city - you have to keep your mouth shut, blah, blah, blah? This is the fact - these kids are smiling, they have no remorse, no soul, no respect. Attempted murder - so it has come to not being able to walk down the street at 6pm. i hope someone does the right thing and turns these guys in.— lulu
- This attack reminds me of a flash mob beating with a metal pipe at 4th and Walnut in June 2011--the victim in that attack is likely permanently physically damaged. Even if they find the perpetrators of this attack, this city's justice system is so broken that each year 19,000 defendants in Philly fail to show up for at least one hearing. Philly has 47,000 long term fugitives! (source: Philly Inquirer) Many defendants pay just 10 percent of their bail up front, with the other 90 percent coming due if they fail to appear in court. Surprise: so many don't show up. For decades, Philadelphia has taken no steps to collect that money, with the result that fugitives owe the city $1 billion in forfeited bail. Philly is one of the only cities in America to have this broken system--most cities have a much harsher, more ruthless bail system. The result of Philly's system is that many victims give up trying to get justice: if the criminal has a low chance of being punished, why would you (victim) risk retribution by testifying? I hope 3 things: 1) that in this case, the victim, a Vietnam, vet will not be afraid to testify against his attackers and 2) the culprits will not become long-term fugitives like 47,000 others in Philadelphia and 3) that the victim moves to Florida. He deserves retirement in safe surroundings, not be at risk of random, unpredictable spasms of mob violence. These attacks are like a drip-drip-drip that chase normal, calm citizens out of the city.— Concernedcitizen51
- These kids have no hope, no future, and obviously lack proper parenting skills, or else they wouldn't fall into the "mob" mentality. I hope they do get charged for attempted murder. Now let's sit back and witness how nasty the ignorant commenters on here can get... in 3...2...1...— SeeingCrimeOfAllColors
Comment removed.- I agree with you Marcie, these are just worthless parasites in society and they don't have anything better to do with their lives.— maclancer
- and the liberal media says we need to be scared of the Tea Party as the animal continue to slaughter productive members of society— ignorantphillydem
- Is this a hate crime??? Hmmmm if it was 6 caucasions that beat one black man,it would be. It would be national news. Catch them and prosecute them for attempted murder and race hate crimes.— KarenD
- I hope the parents are proud of the upstanding young men they produced!!! Hope the victim recovers from his injuries, and able to witness the incarceration of the thugs!!!— Dadair1
- anyone still think it wrong to just exterminate this vermin? these things are incapable of obtaining any type of civility
, this entire segment of society has devolved to the point of absolute savagery, all you have to do is open your eyes and see what they have done to EVERY community they have invaded, they are nothing more than societal cancer.
everything society has tried has failed.
to quote the mayor..."ENOUGH IS ENOUGH"— tmstr929 - Agree with KarenD. WHY NOT A HATE CRIME???
MC— MikeCalc - Go after the parents! Go after the grandparents too!— Jimmy CrackHead
- Waste them! Punks....with nothing to do except prey on residents. they're probably proud of this and even happier that there is a video somewhere that will end up on some junk website. Martial Law please, shoot to kill!— jcpaul
- Comment removed.
You can also follow the Roundhouse blog on Twitter here.
