A 27-year-old woman is recovering after being attacked by several people in St. Louis, and police say two 11-year-olds are among the suspects in a beating that was reportedly live streamed on Facebook.
The attack happened Monday in the Tower Grove South neighborhood, according to KMOV-TV.
Two men and two women were attacked by seven people, in an incident sparked by a previous argument between two of the people involved.
Three of the victims did not require treatment, but one woman was unresponsive when police arrived.
She is recovering in a hospital.
Neighbors say the victims are refugees, but they didn’t say where they are originally from.
A 27-year-old woman is recovering after being attacked by several people in St. Louis, and police say two 11-year-olds are among the suspects in a beating that was reportedly live streamed on Facebook
The attack happened Monday in the Tower Grove South neighborhood of St. Louis
Two men and two women were attacked by seven people, in an incident sparked by a previous argument between two of the people involved
The International Institute of St. Louis is assisting the families.
Police say four of the seven suspects are under the age of 18. The suspects’ ages range from 11 to 22, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The identities of those arrested have yet to be announced by the police.
In a closed Facebook group, one post stated that the woman was beaten with a pipe or a bat after she was already unconscious.
In a closed Facebook group, one post stated that the woman was beaten with a pipe or a bat after she was already unconscious
‘A girl was just savagely beaten on Bamberger. Cops, fire, and paramedics are everywhere… they apparently got her breathing again, so that’s good,’ read the post whose contents were reported by KTVI-TV.
‘This happened in broad daylight… a neighbor told me that after they had beaten her sufficiently that someone hit her in the head with a bat or pipe.’
Neighbors of the victims began a crowdfunding effort on YouCaring to help the family with medical costs and lost income.
According to the neighbors, the attack was preceded by an argument in which the suspects were heard making racist statements toward the family.
The tension then escalated further, as the group of teens turned violent.
The entire episode was live streamed on Facebook. The increasing number of viewers gave the assailants ‘momentum’ and spurred them on, according to the neighbors.
‘The video that was live-streamed on Facebook has been removed,’ they wrote.
‘If you had watched it you would see the woman who is now hospitalized being pulled out of her home by her hair, kicked and severely beaten, and then thrown off of her porch before she was beaten with a pole.
Neighbors of the victims began a crowdfunding effort on YouCaring to help the family with medical costs and lost income. According to the neighbors, the attack was preceded by an argument in which the suspects were heard making racist statements toward the family
‘Three other individuals were beaten as well.
‘All of this took place in front of children who lived in the home.
‘As the attack was live streamed, social media egged the attackers on, the number of “viewers” watching was the prize and incentive.’
The identities of the victims have not been publicized, though neighbors told local media that the family, whose members speak very poor English, settled in the United States from Africa after seeking asylum.
‘This family came here fleeing from a situation where they feared for their lives [and] safety,’ the neighbors wrote.
‘They are refugees. What they have experienced is no better than the circumstance from which they fled.’