The chief asks parents to communicate with their children about the consequences of social media challenges. — Image by vecstock on Freepik
As part of a social media challenge, a juvenile recorded himself "aggressively" beating up a 72-year-old man at a local park, according to Laredo police.
Authorities identified the suspect as a 15-year-old boy. He was detained and charged with injury to an elderly, a third-degree felony, LPD Chief Miguel A. Rodriguez Jr announced Monday.
"Whoever thinks they can do this in our city, they are going to be hunted down, and we will make sure we're going to bring justice to the victims," Rodriguez said.
The incident unfolded at about 2pm Sept 14 at Cheyenne Park. A person reported that an elderly man had been assaulted by a male.
LPD's special victims unit took over the case. Surveillance video from the area showed that a vehicle was involved in the incident.
After releasing images of that vehicle to the media, police received a tip that led them to a south Laredo home, Rodriguez said.
Investigators would identify the suspect as the 15-year-old. Further investigation revealed that he placed the phone in a location and recorded himself assaulting the elderly male, Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez added that the elderly male was "aggressively beaten up." The parents of the boy cooperated with authorities, and the juvenile was detained.
"Any case that involves an elderly person, we're going to prioritise that and make sure that this does not happen in our city," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez pointed out that this is a trend or challenge is not only happening here but also in the Rio Grande Valley.
"They think it's a joke to post this on social media," the chief said.
Webb County Attorney Marco A. Montemayor said that this was an unfortunate incident.
Montemayor added that the juvenile detained remains behind bars at the Webb County Youth Detention Center pending further legal proceedings.
"I would like to remind the public of the serious dangers and consequences our youth will face when engaging in criminal activities. I would also like to remind the public to continue to be vigilant and report any criminal activity to local/ state/federal law enforcement authorities," Montemayor said.
The chief asks parents to communicate with their children about the consequences of social media challenges. Parkgoers are reminded to be mindful of their surroundings. – Laredo Morning Times, Texas/Tribune News Service
