ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Nearly a dozen Wekiva High School students are now facing charges after an attack at a bus stop last month went viral, according to the Ocoee Police Department.
In an affidavit, police said they were called to a home along Plumberry Avenue around 7 a.m. on April 23 after the attack happened.
At the time, the 16-year-old victim’s mother reported that he’d been attacked by around 10 people while getting off the school bus near their home in Ocoee, the affidavit states.
“The video provided as evidence is approximately 30 seconds long, and it depicted (the victim) on the ground, being punched and kicked by a group of 11 males,” an officer wrote. “(The victim) is in a fetal position, covering his head with his hands while the subjects yelled and aggressively attacked him. One individual is seen taking (his) shoes that came off his feet during the incident.”
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The 16-year-old victim then told police that he had “beef” with another boy named Jerone, who attended Wekiva High School with him.
Earlier in the day, Jerone reportedly told the victim that he would be “seeing him later,” and once the victim had gotten on the school bus, other students were saying, “They are going to get you,” police said.
After getting off the bus, Jerone allegedly “squared up” at the victim, officers added.
“So (the victim swung at Jerone to prevent Jerone from hitting him first,” the affidavit reads. “(The victim) said they tussled for a few seconds, and as (the victim) was trying to walk away, multiple boys ran out of the vehicles that had followed the school bus and attacked him.”
The victim was eventually knocked unconscious, so he didn’t remember what happened next, though he believed that the crowd of boys had “jumped” him as part of an orchestrated attack, police explained.
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According to investigators, the teen victim suffered abrasions on his shoulders, scratches on his back and swelling on both eyes. He was also taken to the hospital by his mother.
Meanwhile, video of the attack apparently began circulating among students at Wekiva High School, and school administrators were able to identify the attackers as students, officers revealed.
Police identified several students in the video as follows:
- Jerone Terrill Hill, Jr., 18
- Isaiah Jamari McNish, 18
- Samuel Leon Teague, 18
- Josiah Xavier Watson-Greer, 18
- Thomas C. Jones, 18
- Sandy Rejah Zay King, 18
- Jakarri Markez Bellamy, 18
- Travon Keasean Laster, 18
“It should be noted that Orange County Public Schools Police and SROS have been monitoring the incident closely due to threats of retaliatory incidents based on previous issues involving the same individuals,” the affidavit continues.
Many of the students now face charges of battery and rioting with injury, though Laster also faces a charge of grand theft.