MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (AP) -- A man savagely beaten with rakes, shovels and baseball bats by a child mob died Tuesday as authorities held nine youths in custody, and sought seven more.
The group of children, ages 10 to 18, attacked Charlie Young Jr. late Sunday after a fight that started when one of the children tossed an egg at him, police said.
Young, 36, suffered severe brain injuries and was hospitalized in critical condition after the attack. He died Tuesday, said Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital spokesman Mark McLaughlin.
“It was unhuman what they did,” the victim’s brother, Keith Young, told WTMJ-TV.
Police Chief Arthur Jones said about 16 to 20 young men who had gathered Sunday night prodded a 10-year-old to throw an egg at Young. The egg hit the Milwaukee man in the shoulder, and he started chasing the boy. But a 14-year-old got between the two, and Young punched him, knocking out a tooth.
Several of the youths then banded together to attack Young, Jones said. They chased him onto the porch of a house on the city’s north side and pummeled him, leaving blood spattered from floor to ceiling, police said.
Young managed to briefly escape into the house, but the mob dragged him back outside and beat him until police responded to a neighbor’s 911 call, the landlord said.
Young apparently was a random victim, Jones said.
“We have no reason to believe they (the youths) knew this was Mr. Young or they targeted Mr. Young,” Jones said.
The nine youths taken into custody likely will be charged Wednesday, Jones said, though he didn’t know if they would be charged as adults or juveniles.