Shocking Video: Group Stomps 15-Year-Old Girl On Brooklyn Sidewalk
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Police are searching for a group of suspects accused in a violent gang assault and robbery of a 15-year-old girl in Brooklyn.
Investigators believe this was a retaliation attack for another incident that took place earlier. Police have not said what the earlier incident was about.
The brutal assault was caught on camera shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday on Utica Avenue near Sterling Place in Crown Heights.
Suspects in the crowd take turns stomping on her, kicking her, taking her sneakers, phone and debit card.
Watch: Brutal Gang Attack Caught On Video
"For so many kids to jump on one individual, it's just ridiculous," said Carlita Gorden, who works at a nearby salon and came to the scene when she heard screaming.
"Her book bag, she was grabbing on her book bag. No shoes, just sitting on the floor with no shoes," Gorden added. "Then you see the little one holding her sneakers, running away. Come one, it's sad. We have to do better as a community. We have to do better as people in general. That this little girl could've lost her life, it's really sad."
The chaos took place right in front of an electronics store owned by Anita Peavy, who says she quickly brought down the gate and went outside, CBS2's Dave Carlin reported.
"I didn't need no trouble. I [was] scared the kids [would] come in here and just go crazy the way they was going crazy out there," Peavy said. "I have never witnessed nothing like that yet in my life... To see such a small kid just dropping on one kid, it was crazy."
Peavy – a registered nurse – then went to see if she could help the victim.
"She was bleeding like crazy," Peavy said. "We just tried to keep her calm and sitting there until the ambulance come."
The victim is being treated at the hospital for bruising and swelling to her face and body.
Longtime community activist Tony Herbert says the victim is his cousin.
"She's traumatized right now. She's in a bit of pain," he said. "[Her] mom is just devastated right now to think that she sent her daughter to go to school to turn around and hear that she was a victim of an assault in the very city that she spent her life in."
Police say five suspects turned themselves in Friday. All five are minors.
They're still looking for the remaining suspects.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams condemned the attack.
Recently, the NYPD assigned more than 300 officers to serve as youth coordinators to crack down on crimes where offenders are younger than 18 years old.
Anyone with information about the suspects is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. You can also submit a tip via the Crime Stoppers website, by tweeting @NYPDTips or by texting 274637.
