Brutality and stupidity isn't a charming combination, but it certainly makes things easier for the police. Seven Chicago teens are being charged over a YouTube video that shows a group of teens beating a 17-year-old in an alley, reports the Chicago Tribune. The teen is kicked, punched, and taunted for several minutes before he manages to escape. Police say the victim was robbed of $180 and his shoes—which the gang beat him with. One 17-year-old boy is being charged as an adult; the remaining five boys and a girl, ages 15 and 16, are being treated as minors.
The attackers call the victim—who appears to be of Asian descent—the N-word dozens of times, but police say the beating was not racially motivated. Analysts note that it is becoming increasingly common for youths to share videos of clearly criminal behavior. "Today our young people are experiencing this idea that unless their behavior is shared with the rest of the group, it doesn't really count as something that happened," a communications professor says. (More YouTube stories.)
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