A group of 20 or more teenagers assaulted a Northeast couple in front of their two young sons as the family was leaving the annual Maternity BVM Church carnival last Friday night in Bustleton, according to police.
A group of 20 or more teenagers assaulted a Northeast couple in front of their two young sons as the family was leaving the annual Maternity BVM Church carnival last Friday night in Bustleton, according to police.
Lt. Dennis Rosenbaum of Northeast Detectives said the couple was walking from the church yard toward the 9200 block of Bustleton Avenue with their boys, ages 6 and 4, when someone approached the husband from behind and punched him.
The wife tried to flee with her boys, but a young woman stopped her, stated “where do you think you’re going?” and struck her several times. The woman lost her phone in the fracas.
Other adults intervened to stop the beating, Rosenbaum said. The two attackers appeared to be among a large group of teenagers. The husband and wife each suffered bruises, but did not seek hospital treatment.
When the couple returned home, the woman victim posted an account of their ordeal on Facebook.
“I was kicked and hit by both teenage boys and girls, and my phone was stolen, all while my kids watched and screamed asking them to stop hurting their mom,” she wrote on her profile page.
The couple reported the incident to police later that night, Rosenbaum said.
Police did not release descriptions of the attackers or a suspected motive. The carnival was scheduled to close for the year on Saturday night. ••
— William Kenny
