Group of teens beats 72-year-old man in Berkeley

Authored by sfgate.com and submitted by undue-influence

Group of teens beats 72-year-old man in Berkeley

A group of young men beat a 72-year-old man in Berkeley, leaving him with serious injuries, authorities said.

On July 6 at 3:30 a.m., the older man was walking along Martin Luther King Jr. Way, between University Avenue and Addison Street, when six to eight young men attacked him from behind, according to the Berkeley Police Department.

One man struck the victim in the back of the head, causing him to fall, according to security video of the incident. The group then proceeded to kick the older man repeatedly, leaving him barely able to crawl across the sidewalk.

His attackers, all estimated to be in their late teens to early twenties, then fled. One young man lingered to give a last swift kick to the man’s torso, according to video footage.

“The suspects were strangers to the victim. We don’t have a motive for the attack,” said Officer Byron White, a police spokesman. “As far as we can tell the victim was simply walking home when he was approached from behind and attacked. There was no conversation, no property demanded.”

The older man was left lying on his side on the sidewalk, rocking in pain, according to the video. He was eventually able to bring himself to his hands and knees and crawl forward slightly, then bring himself upright by grasping a fence surrounding a property next to where he was attacked.

Steadying himself by holding onto the fence, he was able to call police for help and was transported to the hospital and treated for his injuries.

Police described the car the young men fled in as possibly a Nissan Quest, or some kind of newer model silver or white minivan. Anyone with information can reach the Homicide Unit at 510-981-5741.

Berkeley Police provided links to the videos taken of the incident in their press release.

“We’re hoping that people will see the video and either recognize the suspects or the vehicle,” White said.

Erin Stone is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @erstone7

V-Right_In_2-V on July 19th, 2018 at 13:57 UTC »

“As far as we can tell the victim was simply walking home when he was approached from behind and attacked. There was no conversation, no property demanded.”

So they literally beat the shit out of an old man for no reason whatsoever, not even bothering to rob him. And one teen even stayed behind to give him on the last kick in the ribs for good measure. Fucking pieces of shit.

I just don't understand this. Do these feel tough after doing this? A group of young men ganging up on an old man, and attacking him from behind... What sort of twisted validation do they get from this?

Boshasaurus_Rex on July 19th, 2018 at 13:53 UTC »

I'll never get this, they don't rob the guy or anything. Just beat him for the sake of beating him. What the fuck is the point?

WhiteTrashInTrouble on July 19th, 2018 at 13:45 UTC »

Somebody will recognize at least one of these fucks. That fuck will roll over on the rest of them.