Posted on 06/24/2011 4:32:14 AM PDT by MissEdie
A teenager had emergency brain surgery this week after police say he was the victim of a violent beating in Five Points.
The 18-year-old was running along Blossom Street near the Walgreens and Wachovia after midnight Monday when he was attacked by four men, the Columbia Police Department reported. After the beating, the man managed to run several blocks to Edisto Avenue, where a passerby found him two hours later and called 911, police said.
The teen, whose name was not released by police, was taken to the hospital, where he had emergency surgery to remove a clot from his brain, police reported. The teen remained in critical condition in a Columbia hospital and was expected to have reconstructive surgery on his face, according to police.
The 18-year-old victim had been helping a friend earlier in the night and was jogging back home when he was attacked, said Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott. The chief did not know where the victim had been or where his home was.
The Police Department on Thursday released video footage of men it says are the suspects. The footage, recorded by security cameras in Five Points, shows eight men walking along a sidewalk. Late Thursday, police had eight people in custody and were interviewing them.
Earlier the night of the beating, the group of suspects had tried to attack others, but those people managed to escape unharmed, Scott said.
The police department also has footage for four men darting across the street toward the man, said Jennifer Timmons, the department spokeswoman. However, the department did not release that footage to the public.
All of the footage was provided to police by the Five Points Merchants Association, which has installed dozens of security cameras outside businesses, Scott said.
The security cameras are just one response to increasing concern about crime in Five Points.
A 2 a.m. bar closing, with many exceptions, will go into effect later this summer, and City Council is considering a curfew. The police and fire departments have beefed up overcrowding inspections at bars, and city police are allowed to work off-duty security in the bars.
Strictly Running, a Harden Street shop that sells running gear and organizes training events, has security cameras inside and outside its storefront, said Selwyn Blake, one of the co-owners and a U.S. Track and Field coach. When coaching runners, Blake said he emphasizes safety tips.
But a jogger getting beaten is rare, he said. “I think what you have here is a unique situation, that’s for sure,” Blake said.
Runners more often face injuries caused by distracted drivers and the extreme South Carolina heat, he said. That’s why joggers are advised to run in pairs, to wear identification, to carry cellphones and to wear reflective vests at night. He also suggested runners let someone know when they leave and when they should be expected to return, Blake said.
Strictly Running hosts groups of runners who leave from the store in the early-morning hours. Blake said he feels safe in Five Points but always advises people to use caution.
“You have to remember you are in the city,” he said. “You have to put your city armor on.”
It's somewhat heartening to see they aren't bothering to use the "robbery gone wrong" modifier anymore. These are just plain old racial intimidation attacks.
Yours is a great summary of actions to quell some of this insanity! Thanks!
Race card in 3, 2, 1...
I carry a gun every where I go. The first five would have had a bullet in’em!
“Timmons said most of the suspects turned themselves in with their parents after the surveillance footage was shown on the news.”
I guess 8 parents showed up with the 8 terrorists complaining about how whitey was the cause of their little angels trying to murder someone. This IS a hate crime. Either charge them with such or take it completely off the books.
Downtown Columbia, and especially Five Points, used to be a wonderful experience for wide-eyed small town visitors.
At the end of the article: ““You have to remember you are in the city,” he said. “You have to put your city armor on.””
Exactly! Therefore, as our cities are full of predators on two legs, an immediate return to Constitutional Carry IS necessary.
For those in Urban Liberal Land, Constitutional Carry means anyone who is a citizen can carry what they please, as they so please, subject to the rules of such private property they choose to enter.
On public property, they may carry as they please.
As a Founder remarked centuries ago: “For in such manner is tyranny kept in check.”
Just as I thought! Methodists!
They shouldn’t bunch up like that, too hard to miss.
This is why mob justice is still reasonable... :)
I say... get some rope, get a couple strong trees, bust down the door to the Sheriff/Police department grab these fellas right by the scruff of their neck and hang them high! (This sentence is written only in parody... I’d never condone this nor say it should be done... ...)
Justice served... but more importantly the other youth will see this intolerance and guess what, they are going to think twice about it.
Long prison sentences do nothing. The monsters come out of prison with no skills, and they have no way to adapt. Again a reason why folks were shipped to islands to serve out their term. To get them OUT of society.
And those who organize to 'control' those poor, afflicted youth will give Obama exactly what he needs for an excuse to drop the hammer to the anvil.
The urban black population will be the anvil and you know what will be the hammer.
And 'we'....i.e. 'not of color'...will be caught in between.
If the media insists on politically correct avoidance of accurately identifying criminals why not avoid any stereotype ID-ing?
“Teens?”—isn’t that age-ist?
“Men?”-isn’t that sexist?
Shouldn’t it read:
“Human assaulted in Five Points; Human’s condition critical after attack by four humans.”
It’s no more ridiculous than racial ID avoidance.
Unfortunately, unless one of the predators confesses, it is unlikely any ID by the victim will stand up in court because of his head injuries.
Especially since “Five Points” was a rough neighborhood in Manhattan, which is how most people know the name.
Why not just shoot em and get rid of scum?
Of course after a long drawn out court hearing that will cost the tax payers hundreds of thousands of dollars, where they will be found either not guilty because of their environmental upbringing which is not their fault or it’s thrown out on a technicality that it’s not a hate crime when blacks commit a crime of violence against a white person.
“I try very hard to not become racist, but with the way the black youth are behaving these days there’s really no other choice.”
Obviously you are not watching TV commercials. Seemingly the USA is composed of 60% highly intelligent AA 20% wonderful white women and 20% of incompetent, goofy, and overall just bad, adult white males, who has to have the simplest message described by the obviously brighter minority.
So the message is typical democrap drivel and the denial of reality.
Never aim at the flock, always pick one bird...
:-)
“I guess 8 parents showed up with the 8 terrorists complaining about how whitey was the cause of their little angels trying to murder someone. “
They, the 8 honor students, were just taking a break from those hard medical school courses they are taking after having turned their lives around.
Just a warning to anyone who tries that with me. I’m a fat old man and I gave up running a long time ago. Now I carry a gun when I go for a walk - especially after dark.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.