Davis Islands attack: Social media message reveals threats, racist comments from victim to one of the suspects
TAMPA, Fla. - A social media message, shared anonymously with FOX 13 on Wednesday, sheds some light on what preceded an attack by a group of teenagers at a Tampa dog park that left another teen unconscious.
Dig deeper:
The Tampa Police Department confirmed they're looking at social media messages as they investigate the attack at Davis Islands Dog Park last Thursday, which they said stemmed from a dispute earlier in the week.
RELATED: Sixth teenager arrested for brutal Davis Islands dog park attack
The message shared with FOX 13 from an anonymous viewer appears to have been sent by the victim to at least one of his eventual attackers. It's filled with threats and racist comments.
The backstory:
According to detectives, the night began with everyone involved in the incident gathering for a bonfire at Davis Islands on Thursday.
Cell phone video shared anonymously with FOX 13 and confirmed by police to be part of their investigation shows the chaos that ended the night. A group of teenagers, which includes one person holding a knife, can be seen surrounding a black pickup truck with a teenage driver and passenger. Police said another teenager threw a rock, which can be heard hitting the vehicle.
Moments later, the video shows several teens attacking the passenger, including another person holding a knife. The victim was pulled from the truck and beaten until he was unconscious.
"Pretty sickening. Makes me concerned for my kids," said T.J. Grimaldi, a Tampa attorney who is not connected to the case. "You see that this kid is being stomped on and kicked and down and looks unconscious by a mob of kids. Whether he was provoking them in the past or not, this kid was outnumbered out-positioned, couldn't have done anything really to defend himself just because there were so many in this mob mentality."
Police arrested six of the suspected attackers, ranging in ages from 15 to 18 years old. All are charged with battery or assault and a 17-year-old faces an attempted murder charge.
Although investigators have released the names of the suspects, FOX 13 is not identifying them until Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez decides whether to try them as adults. A spokesperson for Lopez's office said she's waiting for police to finish their investigation.
PREVIOUS: 5 juveniles arrested for alleged assault at Davis Islands Dog Park: TPD
Several high school sports-related websites indicate at least a few of the suspects either currently attend or previously attended Plant High School. A Hillsborough County Schools spokesperson wouldn’t confirm that, but said if that was the case, they could face suspension or expulsion based on the district’s Student Code of Conduct.
What's next:
Grimaldi expects the situation to get worse for the suspects.
"The state has the option to charge them as adults and I think, with current society, current people in power and everything, I think they're going to be charged as adults," he said.
FOX 13 reached out to the victim, who declined an interview. He also didn't respond to a request for a comment on Wednesday regarding the social media message.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered through details from social media messages sent to FOX 13 anonymously as well as previous reporting on this case. FOX 13's Aaron Mesmer also interviewed T.J. Grimaldi, a Tampa attorney who is not connected to the case.
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