Syracuse, New York Teen Girls Arrested For Allegedly Beating Elderly Man In Viral Facebook Video [Video]
Two teenage girls have been arrested after a Facebook video appears to show them beating an elderly man, WTIC (Hartford) is reporting.
Neither the name of the 62-year-old man, nor the 14- and 15-year-old girls charged in the beating, have been released to the media. The man has asked for privacy as he is the victim of an alleged crime; the girls’ names cannot be released because they are juveniles.
— Flores (@rareartpvp) October 24, 2016
At about 2:53 P.M. on Wednesday, according to The Syracuse Post-Standard, police were called to the man’s home following a disturbance. According to the man’s description of events, a group of teens had been sitting in his front yard, and he politely asked them to leave. The teens instead began assaulting the man; at least two of them are seen slapping and punching him.
Teen girls arrested after video shows them punching 62-year-old Syracuse man (WARNING – GRAPHIC) https://t.co/oTjVWSjZf1 pic.twitter.com/5ZexOPxC6f
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) October 24, 2016
Someone – it is not clear who – captured video of the beating on their cell phone. Facebook user Ja’Meeka Price posted the video to Facebook; it has since gone viral and has been viewed over one million times, as of this writing, and shared over 18,000 times. The video is presented below, but be warned: this video contains content that may be disturbing to some viewers.
https://www.facebook.com/prettiichickmeek/videos/10210302561493703/
For those who would prefer not to watch the video, it begins with the man leaning on his cane and talking to one of the young girls, while a male voice off-screen yells “He’s scared, cuz.” One of the teens slaps him, and the man gives chase out into the street. Once in the street, another girl appears to attack him from behind. The man then runs after the girls before tripping and falling to the ground while the teens laugh. The teens then run off down the street, out of frame, before the video ends.
According to The New York Daily News, detectives working in the Syracuse City School District recognized the girls and provided their names to police. The two girls have since been arrested and released to their parents with a summons to appear in Family Court. Each faces misdemeanor charges of third-degree assault.
The man suffered a bruised eye in the attack but is otherwise OK.
The mother of one of the girls told a local TV station that she wants to apologize to the man and that the attack was uncalled for. The mother also says that the teen girl is “accepting full responsibility” and is prepared to accept the consequences of her actions.
In the comments on Ja’Meeka Price’s Facebook post where she originally shared the video, it seems that most viewers have little to no patience for the girls.
“John Fiermonte No more values in today’s society. This is the norm parents’ not being parents’. They let them do what they want no interaction or social bonding. These kids are going to find it hard in life when trying to function in society.
“Nanette DarDar I live in a similar neighborhood with kids from this same school that walk past/sit on my curb, stand under my tree in my front yard talking loud, smoking weed, being rude.”
Other viewers have suggested that perhaps the video doesn’t show the whole story, and recommended not jumping to conclusions.
“Lesha Lesh Odoms non of us no the whole story u dont no what was said to even make it even go this far…..and for all these grown Mf talking about scumbags or talking s**t they little girls they make mistakes…was yall perfect lmfao F*K NO so why judge others when u cant even judge yourself”
As of this writing, it is not clear when the two girls allegedly caught beating an elderly man in a viral Facebook video will appear in court.
[Featured Image by YouTube]
