Punched to the ground and pummelled with his own shoes – this is the moment a 17-year-old boy was beaten while his attackers filmed his cries for help.
Detectives in Chicago have launched an investigation after an accomplice posted the video onYouTube, reportedly boasting about the violent attack.
It took place in the Bridgeport area of the Illinois city as the Asian victim – who is not believed to be a student – walked along an alley past a school.
The group of seven youths stole the victim’s shoes, wallet and $180, according to News Affairs Officer Daniel O’Brien.
O’Brien told the Chicago Tribune that a video on YouTube ‘matches pretty closely’ with the Bridgeport attack.
Although the attacker took down the footage, another user has re-posted it, pleading with viewers to contact authorities.
‘It’s become a big deal because of the video,’ he said.
The footage shows the victim unable to escape as the swarm of masked youths relentlessly punch and kick him to the snow-covered ground.
Yelling and laughing, the youngsters drag him across the street before opening his backpack to steal its contents.
They continue to hit his face while he groans on the floor, his face becoming bloody and swollen.
At the end of the video, he is seen standing unsteadily and appears to reason with his attackers. They begin hitting him again as the video turns off.
The 17-year-old went to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, where he was treated for a laceration to his lip, bruises and abrasions, the Tribune reported.
The incident is being classified as a ‘strongarm robbery’, the paper added.
No one is yet in custody but police continue to investigate.
The YouTube user who posted the video claims that he took the video from another user who had been proud of the attack.
‘The guy showed his face on camera,’ the user, identified only as David, wrote. ‘We need to catch him.’
He added: ‘The Chinese man was saying, “please no more, don’t hit me anymore please”.
‘Obviously this guy didn’t do anything and was jumped. His English wasn’t good either.’
David urged viewers to complain about the video to Chicago police, and named the seven attackers as Wesley Wu, Easley Wu, Raymond Palomino, Todd Ramos, Johnny Li and Danny Hui.
Discussion boards lambast the ‘disgusting and disgraceful’ attack, with web users demanding the seven ‘cowardly’ perpetrators are arrested and jailed.
This is just the latest of violent attacks caught on camera in Chicago. In November, a video of a group of youths punching a homeless man in a subway station went viral.
