Black males attack white teenagers

Stratford Star:

The attacks initially took place near Bunnell High School and students at that school were assaulted, leading the school faculty to warn parents to take precautions to protect their teenage children.

This week, however, attacks took place on Hamilton Avenue and West Broad Street, miles from Bunnell.

School Supt. Irene Cornish said Wednesday she would consult with police and issue a town-wide alert to parents and students this week.

All of the victims were white teenage boys, and the assailants reportedly were older teenage black males. A senior police official would not characterize the attacks as hate crimes because the attackers were not known to have made racial comments or to give any other indication the crimes were racially motivated.

Stratford police are investigating the attacks as robberies, because in all four cases the victims either were robbed or the gang unsuccessfully attempted to rob them.

Police Capt. Harvey Maxwell advised residents to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings. "We definitely have one or two street robbery crews," he said.

The first attack occurred on Oct. 10 around 10:30 p.m. when a 16-year-old member of the Bunnell High School band was walking home on Huntington Road and a gang of five or six black youths reportedly attacked him.

The gang allegedly tried to take his cell phone but the victim fought them off and they fled empty-handed in a silver car. The youth sustained minor cuts and bruises. He was treated at Bridgeport Hospital.

After that attack, the Bunnell PTA issued an alert to band parents out of concern for the safety of student band members, who often leave the school alone in the evening after practice.

The second attack occurred last Saturday evening shortly before 10 p.m. when a 15-year-old student was knocked off his bicycle and savagely kicked and beaten unconscious along Huntington Road across the street from the high school.

The youth reportedly had gone to the Bunnell-Trinity Catholic football game, which was rained out Friday and rescheduled for Saturday night. A passerby reportedly found him and called police by cell phone.

His mother, an ER nurse at St. Vincent's Medical Center, directed Stratford EMS to take her son to that hospital where he was treated for a concussion, a broken finger and cuts and bruises.

The youth reportedly told police he was attacked from behind and could not furnish a description of his attackers. He also reportedly suffered memory loss from being kicked in the head. Ten dollars in cash was taken from his back pocket.

After the second attack, Bunnell Principal Dudley Orr sent a letter home to all Bunnell parents urging them to pick up their children from school events, or at least to make sure they don't go home alone.

In the third attack, the 15-year-old victim said he was on Hamilton Avenue around 5 p.m. Monday walking home from Stratford High School when he was assaulted by three black males wearing black jackets and masked in black bandanas.

The victim reportedly fought with the gang, but the trio attacked him and took his $250 cell phone.

On Tuesday shortly after 9 p.m., a Stratford police officer was approached by a 17-year-old victim who said three black males attacked him from behind while he was walking on West Broad Street.

The attackers, who wore hooded sweatshirts, allegedly punched him, took his $215 cell phone and ran away.

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