Victim Of Mob Attack Wants Suspects 'Put Away'
UPDATED 06/08/11 5:54 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- He was punched and kicked in his face and stomach.
A suburban teenager is one of the latest victims of an attack in downtown Chicago. He's suffering from a punctured lung after the brutal attack at the hands of a mob of young men.
He says his friend, who was also attacked, now has a leg brace and is on crutches.
"I don't want nobody else to go through what we had to go through," the victim told CBS 2's Suzanne LeMignot.
The victim wanted to be identified only as Sam. He was the victim in a brutal attack at the corner of Pearson and Michigan Avenue on the Magnificent Mile last night.
"I want them to be arrested, put away, just so it doesn't happen to nobody else," he said.
Sam and his friend had just left Oak Street beach. While walking through the underpass leading to Michigan Avenue, Sam noticed he and his friend were being followed by a group of 10 young men.
Once they got to Pearson, one of the men started walking right next to his friend. His friend then asked the man if he could buy a cigarette from him. He took out his wallet and offered the man money.
"My friend's wallet got stolen," Sam said.
Sam says he and his friend chased after the man to Chicago and Wabash. The next thing he knew, Sam says he was hit from behind and fell to the ground. He was kicked and punched in the face and ribs multiple times by the mob of men.
"They had it planned because when I was chasing the kid, they had kids like waiting,' he said
Police Supt. Garry McCarthy says last night's incident was not part of the pattern of attack mobs downtown.
"These three men chased 10 men, to get their wallet back and eventually caught up to the 10 men and lost the fight," McCarthy said.
"We have a plan. We are arresting people and we're going to make this trend stop."
Police took three of the young men into custody. They were identified in a lineup.
The charges they face would include strong-arm robbery, felony mob action and battery. Two of the men in custody are 18. The third is 16.
The person who stole the wallet, got away with $350 in cash.
