Two 13-year-old boys are facing felony charges after allegedly attacking a man in an apartment complex hot tub and stealing his phone. Their own parents later turned them over to police.
A disturbing hot tub attack in San Bernardino, California, has taken an even more unexpected turn after the parents of two teenage suspects reportedly turned their own children in to police.
According to San Bernardino police, two 13-year-old boys are in custody after allegedly attacking a man who was relaxing in a jacuzzi at the Creekside Village Apartments on August 14.
Surveillance video captured the shocking incident, showing the teenagers approaching the victim from behind before one allegedly kicked him in the head while the other grabbed his phone.
The victim, identified as Gregory Medina, said the attack happened without warning. He reportedly felt a powerful blow to the back of his head that knocked his glasses and earbuds off. After realizing what had happened, Medina attempted to chase after the teenagers, but they managed to get away.
The attack left Medina with a concussion, according to reports, and the injuries have reportedly kept him from returning to his job as a chef. What started as a quiet moment of relaxation quickly turned into a violent robbery that could have ended much worse.
Police eventually identified the two teenagers as suspects. Investigators said the boys’ parents learned about the incident and decided to take matters into their own hands.
Both parents turned their sons over to authorities on Friday, August 21, according to police. The teenagers were subsequently arrested and are facing felony charges. The case remains under investigation.
But the story didn’t end with the arrests.
In a new update, Medina said he actually met with the two teenagers after they were taken into custody. During that meeting, the boys reportedly apologized and told him they carried out the attack as part of an attempt to make a TikTok video.
That detail has added another layer to an already troubling case, raising questions about how far some young people may go in an attempt to create shocking or viral social-media content.
Medina said he ultimately forgave the teenagers and expressed sympathy for their families. He also praised their parents for making the difficult decision to turn their children over to police rather than attempting to protect them from the consequences.
The victim acknowledged that handing over your own child to law enforcement could not have been easy, but he said he understood why the parents made that decision.
For Medina, however, the consequences of the alleged stunt have been very real. He suffered a concussion, lost the ability to work temporarily and was left dealing with the aftermath of an attack that he says came completely out of nowhere.
The case is now moving through the juvenile justice system, and the allegations against the two teenagers have not been proven in court.
The incident is also sparking conversations about social media, accountability and the pressure some young people may feel to create increasingly extreme content for attention.
What the teenagers may have thought would become another viral video instead resulted in an alleged violent attack, an injured victim, felony charges and their own parents turning them in.
And now, Medina is hoping the teenagers learn from the situation before one bad decision follows them for the rest of their lives.
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