Man, 70, Speaks Out After Being Beaten By Hopkins High Teens
MINNETONKA, Minn. (WCCO) -- A Minnetonka man says he was assaulted while trying to do the right thing.
On Wednesday, he spoke out to the group of teenagers who sent him to the hospital.
It was around 3 p.m. last Monday when Bob Ziemiecki says he was thrust him in the middle of a fight between high school girls.
"I was going to paint my doors that day and opened up my garage," Ziemiecki said.
That's when he saw a group of about 20 girls gathered near his home, preparing to fight.
"I said to them, 'You don't need to fight.' I remember saying that to somebody, and 'I'm going to call the cops,'" Ziemiecki said.
Seconds later, the brawl began.
"I just went out and tried to stop them from fighting," Ziemiecki said.
He says he found himself in the middle, trying to pull one girl away from another.
"They were taking pictures, that's what I thought was pathetic, don't take pictures, call the cops," Ziemiecki said.
Before police arrived, Ziemiecki says he was sucker punched.
"And that's when things got kind of dark. I'm on the ground and I'm bleeding and suddenly it became an obvious thing this got out of control," Ziemiecki said. "They all left me, they didn't care if I got up off the ground or not."
What hurt him most is that the kids responsible ran away, without checking to see if he was alive or dead.
"The eye socket is fractured," Ziemiecki said.
Ziemiecki also suffered a concussion, abrasions on his back, bruised ribs and countless cuts.
"If I had thought I was going get hurt, I would have dialed 911 first, you better believe I would," Ziemiecki said.
He says over the years kids from Hopkins High have stood near his property and smoked cigarettes, and he's never had a problem.
He wants the teens involved to know their actions were criminal and could have been fatal.
"Be responsible for their actions, they really do need to be responsible," Ziemiecki said. "Everyone needs to be responsible, we're all part of the same society."
Minnetonka police are searching for the teens involved in the attack.
