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Teen mob injures 2 people, vandalized cars in Memphis

Two people were injured when a group of teenagers attacked them at random in Memphis Friday night.

By Gabrielle Levy

MEMPHIS, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- A 55-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy were injured when a group of teens set on them and several cars in Memphis Friday night.

Milton Matthews, 55, is recovering at home after he was assaulted by a group of five or six teens hitting him in the head.

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He said he was visiting a friend at Methodist Hospital when he went out for a walk. He saw a group of about 20 teens near Central High School around 11 p.m., and crossed the street to avoid them, but they followed him.

"I was in a state of shock because I can feel something was about to happen," he said. "Through that incident, I've recovered, but I'm still having flash backs."

An unidentified 16-year-old was also attacked leaving the Central High football game, and hit in the face.

Three 18-year-old men have been charged with assault and vandalizing two cars, and three 17-year-olds were given juvenile summons and allowed to go home.

The group also surrounded two cars around 10 p.m., kicking and climbing on them.

Police said the teens turned on the first vehicle, driven by a 51-year-old man, after he honked to try to get them out of the way.

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Sharon Mourning, 46, the other driver, had her daughter, Princess, inside her car. She described the moment as "terrifying" as she tried to keep driving but the teens continued to surround her.

"All these feet just hitting the window, you know, and pounding on my doors, pounding on my top, you know, snatching the handles," she said. "They thought it was amusing. They stayed on the car and then fell off and the next jumped on the car."

Mourning said she didn't think the juvenile summons was enough to deter another attack.

"Memphis is going to burn if they don't control these children," she said.

Both cars had about $150 in damage.

Witnesses described the incident at similar to one that occurred several weeks ago in a parking lot at a Memphis Kroger. A 25-year-old man and two teens were attacked, in which 10 juveniles and a 19-year-old man were charged.

"It is also imperative that parents and guardians become more engaged in their children's day to day activities," a statement from Memphis Police Department Director Toney Armstrong said. "Parental supervision is crucial to reducing delinquent behavior; we have got to get our parents more involved with what is going on in the lives of our children."

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