SURPRISE, AZ — A teenager was taken into custody in connection to a case ABC15 first broke in April, when a 15-year-old boy was ambushed and beaten by multiple people at a house party.
“He felt like he was going to die,” the mother of the Surprise teen, who does not want to be identified for safety reasons, said.
Police confirm they are investigating videos of the attack on April 4th near Sarival Avenue and Greenway Road. They believe the victim was threatened at gunpoint.
Police say a teenager was taken into custody at the end of April without incident.
Still it doesn’t bring much comfort to the boy’s mother. Based on videos she’s seen and conversations with police, she believes around 11 teens attacked her son.
“The faces of the other ones are visibly shown,” she said. “Because of the fact that there's no accountability, I feel like these kids feel like they're invincible.”
Police confirm several people were involved. From the start, Surprise Police said detectives are working diligently to identify everyone in the case and ensure they are held accountable.
“Our investigators have a lot of video evidence to go through, but it's going to be a painstaking task to identify some of those people involved,” Sgt. Rick Hernandez said in April. “They're working with some of the resources we have within our department, from our Real-Time Information Center Analyst, they're working with our School Resource Officers.”
Police are still asking anyone with photos or videos to come forward.
“We have the text messages. We have the Snapchats. We have all of these videos,” Adam Ashby, an attorney at JacksonWhite Law said.
Ashby is representing the boy who was beaten.
“I also understand that they want to make sure they get it right,” Ashby said. “In the Gilbert Goons case with Preston Lord, it took them months to arrest these boys. So I'm hoping that Surprise PD is not saying, 'I'm so sorry we don't have enough evidence.”
“It's only by the grace of God, in my opinion, that he wasn't killed exactly how Preston Lord was, because this was dozens of kids. You've seen the footage. He's running for his life,” he said.
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Ashby says he sees dangerous teen violence cases in cities across the Valley, and it’s something parents need to have conversations about with their kids.
“These assaults need to stop. And the only way they'll stop is if people are held accountable,” Ashby said.
After the 15-year-old suffered a concussion, a broken nose, and bruises, his mom also fears this is a public safety issue.
“I’m very worried for someone else. Every time it's Friday, I'm like, ‘oh my God, I hope it doesn't happen again this weekend,’” she said. “I do see some of the teenagers on social media, and they still have their guns. They're still flashing their guns on social media, and I'm just scared. I'm scared it's going to happen again.”
Surprise Police encourage anyone with information to come forward, including parents or teens who may have photos or video related to this incident.
Information can be shared by contacting Surprise Police at 623.222.4000 or 623.222.TIPS (8477), or by emailing crimetips@surpriseaz.gov. Please reference incident #260400178.
