Posted on 01/14/2015 7:17:51 AM PST by surroundedbyblue
PITTSBURGH - A 16-year-old boy died Tuesday night after two teenage boys allegedly beat him Saturday at the Circle C Group Home in Carrick, officials said.
VIDEO: Watch the report by Marcie Cipriani
Nicholas Grant died at UPMC Mercy at 10:17 p.m., according to the medical examiner’s office. An autopsy is scheduled and may be conducted as early as Wednesday.
Pittsburgh police said Grant was not breathing when they arrived Saturday night at the facility on Carrick Avenue. Officers started CPR and paramedics were able to get a pulse before he was taken to UPMC Mercy.
The attack has prompted investigations by the state Department of Human Services, which licensed the group home, and Allegheny County, which contracts with the facility.
"We will be investigating," said Marc Cherna, the county's human services director. "How it happened, anything that can be avoided."
A statement by Executive Director Rich Knouff on the Circle C website acknowledges the investigation and asks for prayers for "the healing of everyone involved" in the incident.
"We take resident and staff safety very seriously and are deeply saddened and concerned by the events that took place over the weekend. We are working with authorities to investigate what led to the altercation, as well as reviewing all of our systems and processes," the statement said. "The work we do for at-risk youth comes, not surprisingly, with many risks, but we also realize significant rewards on a daily basis as we see lives turned around for the better."
In a criminal complaint, police said Grant was beaten by two fellow residents of the home, 15-year-old Yusuf Shepard and 16-year-old Malik Crosby.
A female employee at the home told investigators Grant had just moved back in on Saturday. He lived there previously, but left because of another fight with Shepard.
The two started fighting again hours after Grant returned, and Crosby allegedly joined Shepard in attacking Grant, according to the complaint.
"I can't talk about the specific situation, but oftentimes, adolescents tend to leave homes, they run, they go AWOL. It's a pretty frequent occurrence," Cherna said. "These are kids who have been in crisis, they're acting out, they're really out of control, so they go places, and if a child's picked up, they're usually brought back to the place where they ran from."
Authorities said Shepard put Grant into a "choke hold" while Crosby beat him with a vacuum sweeper, according to the complaint.
The employee said she called 911 and ordered the boys to stop, but they continued punching, kicking, and choking Grant until he turned blue and stopped breathing.
Shepard and Crosby were arrested and charged as adults with attempted homicide, conspiracy and aggravated assault. Bail for each was set at $100,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Friday.
The home provides placement for boys -- generally ages 13 to 16 -- who have been referred by the county's Children Youth and Family Services agency or juvenile probation.
When asked if others were present at the time of the incident, Cherna said, "I can't confirm or deny on that kind of thing, but I can tell you we are not making any placements in Circle C group homes until this all gets resolved."
Neighbors said the group home can be unpleasant to have on the street, but the problems usually aren't too bad.
"Every once in a while, some damage will be done to the house, things like that," said Jim Gretchka, a nearby property owner. "But other than that, I really haven't had any problem with them."
Cherna said there will be no children living at the Carrick home during the investigation, and any who were living there have been placed elsewhere.
Don't think Nicholas Grant will be doing much healing.
Maximum sentences for the two creatures, and the "home" should be sued out of existence.
I can hear it now. A social services worker will review the case and say about the perps,
"Dese po' teens don' need no incarsuhrashun. Dey needs unduhstanin'. We gon' send dem on a vacashun so dey can chill."
It is to the point that sending first time minor offense juvenile offenders to these gladiator institutions should be deemed abusive. You in for some stupid teenager infraction and come out damaged in more ways than one and never really learn from your mistake.
“Nicholas Grant died at UPMC Mercy at 10:17 p.m.”
“Shepard and Crosby were arrested and charged as adults with attempted homicide, conspiracy and aggravated assault.”
I guess this doesn’t qualify as murder.
Putting a woman in charge of 16-year-old convicts?
I can't imagine why they didn't obey her. Did she remember to say "please"?
Charged with attempted homicide and he died????????????????
What on earth am I missing here?
.
Another case of America’s A-#1 certified victim group acting like savages.
Any momemt now holder/sharpton/jackson will swoop down and start the marches...
Hopefully, the thugs were charged before the other young man died, and it will be upgraded to first degree murder.
So thug #1 put the huge kid in a choke hold while thug 2 beat him with a vacuum cleaner.
Where are the #icantbreathe people?
Not huge. White. White kid
Glassy eyed like they are high on marijuana or similar
I work w/at-risk teen boys @ a level 14 sub acute care
private residential facility. To be eligible for placement
clients have to be certified level 14 by professionals within
their home counties. Issues include ADD, ADHD, depression,
bi-polar disorder, and other afflictions. Their total
diagnosis must be more than 50% of these emotional issues.
Less than 50% could be conduct disorder (CD) which includes
lots of fighting and violence. Lots of CD in these punks.
Unrepentant, defiant, ambivalent.
The one on the right has “dead” eyes...the other, almost looks confident based on posture.
Used to be that having a trouble maker child spend a night in jail served as good “wake up” call...
Any more, it’s probably a death sentence.
Two on one is what kind of fun?
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