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| Video grab of the attack (left) and Nolan John (inset). | Provided; CPD |
Four months after a 15-year-old boy was severely beaten by a mob at the Lane Tech High School carnival, charges have been filed in the case.
On the evening of May 26th, a police officer reported seeing a group of 40 people fighting in a grassy area next to the school carnival grounds at 2501 West Addison. When the crowd broke, officers found the boy lying unconscious.
He was admitted to Lurie Children’s Hospital in serious condition with fractured bones in his face, a broken nose, chipped teeth, and significant bruising, police said.
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| The victim recovers from his injuries. | GoFundMe |
A police spokesman said the boy was attacked when he tried to stop a group of 15 to 20 teenagers from taking his friend’s bike. The boy was surrounded by the group of offenders who struck the victim repeatedly while he was on the ground, police said.
Police last Friday arrested 18-year-old Nolan John of Edgewater in connection with the case. Prosecutors charged John with one felony count of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm. They said John “kicked the victim several times” during the attack. Judge Mary Marubio set bail at $25,000.
John is a currently a student at Northeastern University, according to court records.
Charged as juveniles in the case are a 17-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy. The two are each charged with one felony count of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, according to a police spokesperson.
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| Video grab shows a man kicking the victim who is lying on the ground. |
Video of the attack surfaced within days. “They stompin’ his ass! They stompin’ his ass,” a male voice is heard screaming as the attack unfolds. “They stompin’ his ass!….Hey, he out! He out!”
Friends of the victim banded together to raise $5,871, more than three times the campaign’s goal, to help the boy’s family cover medical expenses.
“He is a good student with a kind heart who stood up for what was right,” the GoFundMe campaign pitch said. The carnival “was supposed to be fun memories with peers and friends….[He] ended up unconscious and severely beaten.”
