A 15-year-old boy remained hospitalized in grave condition Thursday after being attacked by three other juveniles while eating outdoors at a Freedom Plaza restaurant in South Los Angeles.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, two juveniles were eating at the restaurant in the 9900 block of South Alameda Street around 6:50 p.m. Tuesday when they were “approached from behind and brutally beaten by three juvenile suspects.”
One of the victims was hospitalized in grave condition. The other was treated and later released, police said.
One juvenile suspect in the attack was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of attempted murder, police said. Detectives are still working to track down the other two suspects.
The name of the suspect was not released due to the juvenile’s age. The victims’ names also have not been released, but family members identified the gravely injured teen as Jason Rios, 15.
“He didn’t know these individuals. They came up behind him. They threw a punch at his head. They knocked him to the ground. He mentioned that he tried to dodge a lot of the hits by covering his body,” Jason’s sister, Nayeli Rios, told ABC7.
Jason remains hospitalized at Harbor UCLA Medical Center, where he underwent brain surgery, the family told the station.
“A lot of the kicks were to the body. He had lesions on his arms… he had multiple lesions on his face. He received, the one major hit or the major hits he received was on the right side of his brain. So that’s where they operated from and that’s where the inflammation from his eyes are coming from as well,” Nayeli told Channel 7.
The teen celebrated his birthday last weekend.
“So we just celebrated his birthday on Saturday. He’s so joyous. I remember we were, we were there celebrating his birthday he blew out the candles. He was so happy. He never has any problems with anybody. He goes to school, my mom picks him up, my mom brings him home. It’s the one day that my mom let him go with a friend to eat. And that we don’t, we don’t let him go out because it’s dangerous,” Nayeli said.
Anyone with information regarding the attack was urged to contact LAPD Southeast detectives at 213-972-7813. Calls during non-business hours or weekends should be directed to 877-527-3247. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or visit lacrimestoppers.org.