Police are searching for a group of suspects who allegedly stomped on a teenage girl lying on a sidewalk in Brooklyn, New York, Thursday.
Surveillance footage showed the group of suspects surround a 15-year-old girl on Utica Avenue in Crown Heights and repeatedly attack her as she lay on the pavement, according to CBS New York.
At the beginning of the video, one suspect ran toward the girl and stomped on her as she curled up in the fetal position and tried to protect herself.
Seconds later, several other suspects approached and kicked her repeatedly. As the crowd began to disperse, a man wearing jeans and a green shirt bent down and pulled off her shoes, then walked away from the scene.
The suspects also reportedly stole the young woman’s cell phone and debit card.
“The victim was taken to the hospital with bruising and swelling to her face,” the report said.
Friday morning, the New York Police Department (NYPD) tweeted the video and asked residents for help in identifying the suspects:
The incident happened just outside an electronics store owned by Anita Peavy, who said she brought down the gate to go out and help the victim.
“She was bleeding like crazy,” Peavy recalled, adding, “We just tried to keep her calm and sitting there ’til the ambulance come.”
“I have never witnessed something like that yet in my life … such a small kid dropped by another kid, was crazy,” she commented.
In February, New York City residents told Mayor Bill de Blasio during a town hall event that they are fed up with the growing crime rate and asked him to work with state lawmakers to abolish the new bail reform law, Breitbart News reported.
“Many people are being beaten, slashed, and hurt by criminals being released. They said they would only release people that are non-violent but they’re releasing people who are very, very violent,” one resident said.
“New York City is becoming a crime city. Could you please get rid of bail reform to make our city safer?” she asked him.
Despite their concerns, de Blasio claimed people who believe the crime rate is increasing were “not interested in the facts” and accused them of “whipping up fear.”
However, the NYPD said Thursday that the state’s bail reform law was mostly to blame for the recent spike in crime, according to the New York Post.
“Criminal justice reforms serve as a significant reason New York City has seen this uptick in crime,” the department stated.
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