Arrests Made In St. Louis MetroLink Assault Reportedly Tied To Michael Brown ‘Situation’
St. Louis police have reportedly made two arrests in the vicious beating of a commuter on the St. Louis MetroLink light rail system.
As the Inquisitr previously reported, a passenger on a St. Louis MetroLink light rail train was brutally attacked on Monday night after allegedly being asked what he thought about the Michael Brown “situation.” A cellphone video of the incident was subsequently uploaded to social media.
“Police said the victim, who is white, was punched and kicked by three black men, one of whom had made the reference to the teen killed in Ferguson by a police officer Aug. 9,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
The primary alleged assailant (see footage below) appears to be a man wearing a red shirt and a red ball cap.
From what the victim, 43, told police, the blows starting raining down on him after he allegedly told the men that “he hadn’t put much thought into it,” i.e., the Michael Brown case in which the teen was fatally shot by officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, a St. Louis suburb.
The victim, who tried to cover up as he was being hit, suffered cuts and bruises to his face in the barrage, but declined medical treatment.
Recalling the incident on the public transportation system, the victim explained, “I responded I was too tired to think about it right now. The next thing I know, he sucker-punches me right in the middle of my face.”
KMOV, Channel 4 in St. Louis, indicated on its Facebook page that police have taken into custody two suspects, one age 21 and the other 15. Cops apparently were able to identify the suspects via surveillance video. Police released a third man without charging him.
The victim separately told KMOV, “I think it was disgusting that no one [helped]. People were sort of laughing and smiling about it. No one offered to help and no one attempted to call 911… [the suspects] were just looking to hurt someone.”
He wasn’t robbed in the encounter and apparently believes that the incident was a hate crime.
“St. Louis has a big problem right now, and everyone needs to be vigilant. If it could happen to me, it could happen to anyone,” he added.
A man who identifies himself as David Autry has launched a GoFundMe page that is closing in on the goal of raising $5,000.
The page states in part, “I am the guy on the St. Louis Metrolink train getting punched and kicked repeatedly in the head. I would like to buy a motorcycle so I can get to and from work (to avoid the Metrolink) and give a portion of the proceeds to victims of violent crimes in the St. Louis area. I am modifying my goals.”
Autry also disclosed that he is in the process of getting a lawyer.
In the meantime, MetroLink has attempted to beef up security on the trains with off-duty officers.
Added: Authorities have decided against bringing hate crime charges. “Specifically, when put in context, it did not support the finding that the acts in this case met the elements of the hate crime statute in the state of Missouri, specifically proving the motivating factor behind the individual that we have charged,” a St. Louis prosecutor’s office representative declared.
[MetroLink train image credit: Matthew Black]
Seated man beaten in MetroLink Facebook video #STL http://t.co/Vnn61ZxG8Q https://t.co/9vqCOUWzsX
— FOX2now (@FOX2now) March 27, 2015
This following report about the MetroLink attack allegedly linked to the Michael Brown “situation” aired on local TV prior to the arrests.
