A shocking video captures a group of teens on e-bikes viciously attacking a stranger in a wealthy neighborhood of California, then taking a photo, mistakenly believing he was dead.
The victim, a man in his sixties, was walking home late Friday night in Hermosa Beach when he was surrounded by around six aggressors. One of them demanded the pizza he was carrying, according to surveillance video.
As he tried to respond, the group lunged at him, assaulting him with punches, kicks, and stomps on the ground. At one point, one of them even struck him in the head using the pizza box.
After the attack, the assailants sped away on their electric bikes. Some witnesses were left with the impression that the victim might have died, yet one person still decided to take a photo of him, as reported by KTLA.
Just moments before the incident, a witness named Matt Terrill told FOX 11 he heard the teens discussing their intentions to rob someone.
“They were here five minutes ago talking about doing something. They were like, ‘I want to get somebody,’” Terrill recounted.
According to the Hermosa Beach Police Department, the unidentified victim was taken to a local hospital but has since been discharged.
No arrests have been made yet, and authorities have not disclosed a motive for the attack.
Local residents have expressed concerns, noting that gangs on electric bikes have been causing problems in the area for some time.
Jeff Van Sickle, who runs Strand Electric Bike Company in Hermosa Beach, mentioned, “These kids are known for getting into trouble. They ride five or six bikes at a time,” adding that the kids’ electric dirt bikes aren’t street legal.
Another resident, 66-year-old Hart Cardozo, shared his own harrowing experience, stating he required 14 staples in his head after being ambushed by teenagers in daylight last month. They surrounded his vehicle, slashed his tires, and struck him on the head during a “traumatic” incident.
After witnessing this recent attack, he felt compelled to speak out, asserting, “If you’re seeing something like this happening in your community and you’re not talking about it, you need to publicize it.”
“They need to be arrested,” Cardozo emphasized. “And whatever parents are facilitating this prank, they really don’t know what’s happening to their children.”
The Hermosa Beach Police Department is currently investigating both incidents.
