A group of children aged between 11 and 14 have been arrested for trying to rob an elderly man at gunpoint and beating him with his own cane in Houston.
The juveniles attacked 76-year-old Ray Johnson on September 9, shoving him to the ground and beating him on the head with a gun which they also pointed in his face.
They used the elderly man’s cane to hit him and demanded money but were scared off when he screamed for help and two neighbors ran over to help him.
Last week, police arrested three kids in connection with the attack. They were aged 11, 12 and 14. None of their identities are being released because of their age.
The three teenagers who were arrested are part of a larger group seen above in surveillance footage on September 9 not long after they attacked the elderly man. Three are still on the loose
Police are still looking for another three kids they believe may be responsible, alongside the others, for a wave of crime which includes robbery, assault and car theft.
The three juveniles were arrested after police matched their description to a group they saw fleeing from them in a car on September 12.
When police tried to pull the group over, they fled. There were four of them in the vehicle at the time.
Police tracked down two of them and they admitted to the attack on Johnson as well as stealing the car they were in.
They told the officers their plan was to set it alight and that they had been on a crime spree around the city ‘for the kicks.’
Ray Johnson, 67, was hit over the head with his cane (pictured) and had a pistol smacked over his head by the youths but he said he does not hold it against them and is praying for them. Image courtesy of ABC
‘This is the attitude of some of the young juveniles that we have out there that we’re just going to assault people and steal their goods and we’re going to cause serious bodily injury, just for kicks,’ Constable Ted Heap said.
Johnson, who was not left with any serious injuries, spoke out on Tuesday to say he had forgiven them for their actions.
He said he ‘loved kids’, was a Boy Scouts leader and wanted the children to know he is praying for them.
‘I prayed for those kids that night.
‘There is hope for them. These kids just need a little guidance and a little love.
‘There’s hope for them. I love them all,’ he said at a press conference.
In total, police fear the group of children may be responsible for more than 20 crimes across the city since May 2017.
Anyone with information about these crimes or anyone who may have been a victim of a similar crime is urged to contact Harris County Precinct 5 at 281-463-6666.