Four high school students who were recorded slamming a teenage boy down into concrete have been arrested and charged in the brutal beating.
The cruel fight broke out last Tuesday near Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where one of the worst school shootings in US history occurred years ago.
A video shows a teen boy holding the victim on his shoulder and throwing him onto the concrete with his head hitting the ground first. The victim lies facedown with his blue shirt rolled half up his torso as a huge crowd watches around him.
‘Check if he’s breathing, dawg,’ someone is heard saying.
Other teens turn the victim on his back and then to his side, as he appears unconscious.
Onlookers at North Community Park in Florida can be heard gasping in disbelief.
The teen boy suffered a cracked skull, WSVN reported. He was rushed to a nearby hospital.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas students Jordan Thompson, 16; Caleb Hensley, 17; and Sylvester Hicks Jr, 16, were arrested on Thursday. Coral Glades High School student Chinua Leefatt, 15, was also arrested. All four teens have been charged with felony battery and were taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center.
The charges reflect ‘the serious nature of their actions’, stated Coral Springs police.
Another suspect, Jahmeer Beautziel, 17, has not yet been arrested.
The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries and is recovering at home. He has not been identified.
A friend of the victim, Patrick Fox, told the TV station: ‘I was there when they started chasing him, but when I left, he was just in an ambulance leaving, so I heard that he got… he fractured his skull or something.’
An investigation into the incident continues.
‘The safety of our community and schools remains our top priority,’ police stated.
‘We want to assure the public that such behavior will not be tolerated.’
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High was the site of one of the deadliest school shootings in America on February 14, 2018. A 19-year-old former student, Nikolas Cruz, opened fire and killed 17 people. He was sentenced to life in prison in November 2022.
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