Authorities in Illinois say 11 teens were involved in a social media fad in which they used dating apps to lure men and beat them up. The teens face felony assault charges.
This was announced by the Mount Prospect Police Department. statement Over the summer, a group of 11 teenagers allegedly attacked two men.
“We ask parents to take these incidents as an opportunity to talk to their teens about the seriousness of actively participating in these types of trends seen on social media. .”
The 41-year-old man told police he was assaulted by a group of teenagers in the parking lot of a business in Mount Prospect, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Chicago, on July 8 at about 9:45 p.m. spoke.
“The victim stated that he used an online dating app and arranged to meet someone at that location,” Mount Prospect Police Department said. “The victim said that upon arrival, he was approached by a group of male teenagers, verbally confronted and punched. The teenagers in the group also damaged the victim's car. He said he fled in his car and was eventually able to escape from a group of teens who followed him in a car. ”
Within just 10 minutes of the first reported attack, a 23-year-old man called police about an alleged assault that occurred about a mile away from the location of the first alleged attack.
The second alleged victim said he was planning to meet someone at the location where he was allegedly assaulted by a group of teenagers. He also claimed that the teens caused damage to his car, including slashing his car's tires.
The alleged victim headed to a nearby home where Mount Prospect Fire Department transported him to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police did not say which dating app the suspects allegedly used to lure the men.
Mount Prospect Police Department detectives used surveillance video from the area of the attack to identify the suspect. After investigation, police determined that 11 juveniles took part in one or both of the suspect's attacks.
Overall, 53 felonies were filed against the juvenile suspects, including aggravated assault with great bodily harm, criminal damage to property, and mob action.
NBC News One of the teenage suspects faces two felony hate crime charges for using “racial and other derogatory language” during one of the alleged attacks, police said. announced.
Police did not say what racial slur the suspect allegedly shouted.
The Cook County State's Attorney's Office approved all charges against the juvenile suspect.
The identities of the suspects have not been released because all were minors. All suspects were male, and 10 of them were 17 years old. One was 16 years old.
All suspects turned themselves in last month and were transferred to the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center in Chicago, police said.
The suspects allegedly told investigators that they got the idea for the attack from viral social media trends they saw online.
Mount Prospect Police Chief Mike Eterno said, “These incidents are an opportunity to remind parents of the seriousness of actively participating in these types of trends on social media with their teens.'' I'm asking you to have a discussion.”
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