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Two teens arrested, at least one more sought in Broward bus beatingNov 14, 2012 (Sun Sentinel - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Two teens have been arrested and police are seeking at least one other suspected of dragging a 17-year-old boy off of a crowded Broward County Transit bus, beating, kicking and robbing him. Surveillance video released Tuesday by Fort Lauderdale police of the Sept. 5 attack shows several youths pummeling and pounding the victim at a bus stop in the 1500 block of West Sunrise Boulevard. A 17-year-old Lauderhill High student was arrested Tuesday and a 17-year-old Mavericks Central High student was arrested Nov. 7, according to police reports. The victim suffered a broken nose and head injuries and the suspects stole his cellphone and IPod before fleeing, according to a police report. The victim, identified by WPLG-Ch. 10 as Tyreek Westby, told a TV reporter that he tried to escape the brutal beatdown. "I tried to get away," Westby said. "I was like, man, I can't take this beating. Time for me to either escape or survive, but I couldn't make it." Police hope that someone will recognize the other attackers on the video and report them to police. "This is an open investigation and detectives will be pursuing any additional information or leads that the public bring to their attention," said Detective DeAnna Garcia, spokeswoman for the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. The video shows several youths exit through the rear door of the crowded bus. One jumps back on and sucker punches the victim and drags him outside. The attackers pummel and kick him. When the victim tried to run away, another attacker threw him to the ground for continued beatings and kicking. The video also showed the victim trying to get back on the bus but the driver would not open the doors before driving away, despite yelling from bus passengers. The bus driver followed "standard operating procedure," said Phllis Berry, spokeswoman for Broward County Transit. "Our practice is once the bus starts and pulls off that they're not to stop for people running after the bus," Berry said. "The bus operators are instructed to protect the passengers on the bus. The bus operator did call our communications center to alert them of the incident...It looks unfortunate, but it could have gone the other way too if he opened up the bus and something happened to the other passengers." Investigators are urging anyone with information about the other two suspects to call Fort Lauderdale Police at 954-828-5700 or Broward Crimestoppers at 954-493-8477. Staff Writer Wayne K. Roustan contributed to this report. [email protected] or 954-356-4542. Twitter @talanez ___ (c)2012 the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) Visit the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at www.sun-sentinel.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |