26 year old woman beaten by 9 middle schoolers on a public bus

[eau_xplain 2]

Since when are fifteen-year-olds middle schoolers?

I wondered about that too.

But this is a very sad testimony of how young people are getting so destructive ... to others and to themselves.

[Sinergy 3]

I can't shoot 15 year olds for being wacko? What kind of society is this?

no you cant shoot 15 yr olds for being wacko, unless your the one they are going wacko on.

since when do you think you can take justice into your own hands?

the bus driver called the police, and now it will be handled properly

[Mags 112]

Since when are fifteen-year-olds middle schoolers?

They've probably been held back a year or two. Bad behaviour, as well as low school grades, can mean that you don't automatically go up a year. That's my understanding of it, anyway.

[Sinergy 3]

Since when are fifteen-year-olds middle schoolers?

They've probably been held back a year or two. Bad behaviour, as well as low school grades, can mean that you don't automatically go up a year. That's my understanding of it, anyway.

It also depends on when your birthday falls.

[mawilson 2,133]

since when do you think you can take justice into your own hands?

To protect an innocent.

[Caladan 19]

Since when are fifteen-year-olds middle schoolers?

They've probably been held back a year or two. Bad behaviour, as well as low school grades, can mean that you don't automatically go up a year. That's my understanding of it, anyway.

Sure, it's just weird to describe that as middle-schoolers, rather than just giving the age of the offenders. Almost like they were trying to make the story a little more interesting (more like woman assaulted by rogue eleven-year-olds!) or sensationalist.

[Sinergy 3]

since when do you think you can take justice into your own hands?

To protect an innocent.

when someone is being beaten up, you dont just shoot them

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I think it's hasty to judge what happened without knowing all the details. I find it odd that her boyfriend was there, but wasn't attacked. There's more to the story.

[Amby 490]

Middle schoolers are a real problem. We had some problems in our neighborhood over the summer, now I find out they were middle schoolers too.

I agree with you 100%. My cafe is located inside the library and the library has to have a sheriff deputy on duty at the library from 3-9pm because middle school kids were stealing books, breaking computers, and being overly obnoxious and noisy. I had to kick a group out of the cafe on Tuesday night because they were being really loud, making a huge mess, and trying to steal stuff. A girl's mother actually came in yesterday and asked me why I was rude to her daughter for no reason. I explained to her what was going on and didn't believe me so I gave her the number for the deputy that was on duty on Tuesday night and told her to call him because he asked them repeatedly to stop being nuisances.

[Fandango 1,440]

those silly teens!

[mawilson 2,133]

since when do you think you can take justice into your own hands?

To protect an innocent.

when someone is being beaten up, you dont just shoot them

No, you don't. You point your gun at them and ask them to stop. If they don't, then you shoot them.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal...0,5412204.story

....

The nine students from Robert Poole Middle School, who are all 14 or 15, are charged as juveniles with aggravated assault and destruction of property. After juvenile hearings yesterday, all were released to their parents, directed to be kept under home detention and told to stay out of school until their next court hearing Jan. 4.

But yesterday, police and some of the youths' parents sharply disagreed on what sparked the after-school brawl -- which MTA officials characterized as a rare example of serious violence on the city's public bus system.

According to a police report, one of the boys kept jumping in front of the woman, Sarah Kreager, 26, and claiming that the open seats on the bus were reserved.

When Kreager finally found a seat, the teens began throwing punches at her and her boyfriend, according the report. The beating continued, police said, even as the eastbound bus lurched to a stop and the driver radioed for help about 3 p.m.

At one point in the Tuesday afternoon attack, police said the teens punched and kicked Kreager, broke down the rear door of the bus and dragged her into the street. The report says she suffered two broken bones in her left eye socket, two deep cuts on the top of her head and other cuts on her neck and back. Her face was bruised and her left eye was swollen shut.

Kreager was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Her companion, Troy Ennis, also was beaten, police said, but did not require hospital treatment.

But the mother of one of the suspects says the victim, for an unknown reason, provoked the attack by spitting in the face of one of the girls. Beverly Bell, whose son is an eighth-grader at Robert Poole, said the victim's boyfriend then pulled out a knife and threatened the girls, which prompted the boys to attack the man.

Interviewed after yesterday's court hearing, Bell said her son had never been in trouble before. Testimony in juvenile court revealed that five of the six boys arrested had no juvenile records.

"We don't know why that woman did what she did," said Bell, referring to the alleged spitting incident. "But I can't see these kids jumping on anyone for no reason."

Another parent said it was Kreager who did not want any students sitting next to her initially, prompting an argument.

Edie House, a spokeswoman for the city school system, said yesterday that the fight is "under review" by school police.

"We're getting conflicting reports about what actually occurred on the bus," she said. "We've not had a chance to speak to the students who were arrested. Once we do that and complete our investigation, we will determine what disciplinary action is going to be taken."

MTA officials also are investigating. "This agency is looking at this as a very tragic event," said Jawauna Greene, an agency spokeswoman.

State officials characterized the attack as an isolated and rare act of violence on city buses that was quickly brought under control by police. Crime statistics were not available from the MTA.

Greene said the agency is reaching out to schools, parents and students to let them know that riding city buses after school is a privilege that can be revoked. "If there is a silver lining in this, it's the fact that the bus driver's response was timely, and he knew the proper steps to alert authorities to prevent the loss of life," Greene said.

MTA officials said about 30,000 children in Baltimore and Baltimore County use the subsidized bus service.

The bus dispute is the most recent in a series of local fights involving teenagers.

Late last month, a brawl in Edgewood left a man paralyzed after he was assaulted with a baseball bat and kicked by at least six juveniles, according to Harford County sheriff's deputies.

A few weeks earlier, city and schools police arrested 22 girls involved in a melee that sent one student to the hospital with minor injuries after a high school football game at M&T Bank Stadium.

Edited December 6, 2007 by Mister Fancypants

[Nagishkaw 510]

since when do you think you can take justice into your own hands?

To protect an innocent.

when someone is being beaten up, you dont just shoot them

No, you don't. You point your gun at them and ask them to stop. If they don't, then you shoot them.

[Sinergy 3]

since when do you think you can take justice into your own hands?

To protect an innocent.

when someone is being beaten up, you dont just shoot them

No, you don't. You point your gun at them and ask them to stop. If they don't, then you shoot them.

if your wearing a badge MAYBE, but you dont even know the whole story, so jumping to conclusions of shooting everyone is just childish and the same mentality those kids have

Edited December 6, 2007 by Ionescu

[mawilson 2,133]

since when do you think you can take justice into your own hands?

To protect an innocent.

when someone is being beaten up, you dont just shoot them

No, you don't. You point your gun at them and ask them to stop. If they don't, then you shoot them.

if your wearing a badge MAYBE, but your not, so shoot them and your going down too

Save a life, or be selfish and do nothing - the choice is yours.