Parents Of Teen Brutally Beaten At Valley Fair Mall Want Surveillance Video Released
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – Nearly one week after 17-year-old Christian Rasner was brutally assaulted in the parking lot of the Valley Fair Mall the teen's parents are demanding police release the surveillance video to find the suspects.
Maria Rasner has barely left her son's bedside for the past five days. "It's my eldest and he's my firstborn son. I miss him so much," she told KPIX 5.
The 17-year-old remained in a medically-induced coma Monday, after he was attacked in a parking lot outside the mall last Wednesday.
"He hugged me and kissed me. And I asked him when he was going. He said, 'Valley Fair Mall,' And that was it," Maria Rasner recalled.
The teen's parents said their son and two of his friends were harassed by a pair of men inside the mall, who repeatedly asked them if they were in a gang. The men followed the teens into the parking lot and attacked them.
Greg Rasner, Christian's father, is urging police to release video from the mall's security cameras, which he believes will help the public identify his son's attackers.
"A much more express way to do it is to release them to the public. Yes, they will probably get some bogus leads. But I have to imagine someone will give them that one good lead that leads to them getting off the streets," Greg said.
San Jose police said their gang unit is helping with investigation, but wouldn't say when or if the security camera video would be released. In the meantime, Christian's parents said they will continue to fight for their son, as he fights to recover from a traumatic and potentially life-threatening brain injury.
