June 25, 2015
A vicious attack recorded by a bystander and later circulated online has led to the arrest of five teenagers who appear to have beaten their victim after mistaking his identity.
The video, posted on NBC 10, shows the five teens kicked, punched and stomped on the victim while he was cornered against a wall along Wister Street in Olney.
The website MediaTakeOut.com obtained the video and posted it to Facebook, where it amassed more than 4.2 million views and 93,000 shares.
After viewers of the video expressed outrage, Philadelphia Police detectives launched a probe that has led to the arrest of five teenagers over the past few weeks.
While the video initially claimed that the beating occurred because the victim made the honor roll at school, the investigators learned that the attackers mistook the victim for someone else involved in an earlier fight. All of the attackers are juveniles and will not have their names released. Police said that they have been charged with robbery, aggravated assault, possession of an instrument of crime, theft, and related offenses.
