Authorities said Tuesday at a press conference that eight high school students in Las Vegas, ages 13 to 17, had been taken into custody on suspicion of murder in connection with the deadly beating of a classmate, who was 17 years old.
Murder by Las Vegas police Investigators are still trying to identify two more kids, according to Lt. Jason Johansson, who stated that the altercation on November 1 was allegedly over a vape pen and a pair of wireless headphones.
According to Johansson, the eight kids were arrested on Tuesday morning with assistance from the nearby FBI office. According to him, the two exceptional kids will also be charged with murder.
Jonathan Lewis Jr., the 17-year-old victim, was hospitalized for significant “head trauma” and other injuries, according to Johansson, and he passed away approximately a week after the incident. The beating was declared a homicide by the Las Vegas coroner’s office.
A video of the attack has gone viral on social media, and Las Vegas Undersheriff Andrew Walsh has described it as “extremely disturbing.”
According to Johansson, the footage was crucial in enabling detectives to identify the suspects alongside Clark County School District police and school authorities.
“A lot of you, and many people in the community, have seen the disturbing video that has circulated throughout our community via social media,” Walsh remarked on Wednesday. “And if you, or your child, or someone you knew, has seen that violent video, and recognized anybody that may have been a participant in this senseless crime, you need to get ahold of us.”
Due to their youth, the suspects’ names were withheld by the authorities. In order to ascertain if they would face adult murder charges, Johansson stated that he and his group are collaborating with the district attorney’s office in the area.
According to Johansson, the altercation was staged following the victim’s friend’s theft of the vape pen and headphones.
According to Johansson, investigators think that the victim went with his friend to a nearby alleyway, where the fight was meant to happen after Rancho High School in eastern Las Vegas’s classes ended for the day. The victim wasn’t originally planned to be part in the fight.
The ten pupils “swarmed him, pulled him to the ground, and started kicking, punching, and stomping on him” in the alley, according to Johansson.
He added that after the altercation, a “citizen” in the neighborhood discovered the victim severely injured and unconscious in the alleyway. They took him back to campus, whereupon school personnel dialed 911.