(CBS 3) HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. Police in Hamilton Township are searching for a group of teens who savagely attacked a homeless man and left him hospitalized.
Police said the incident is the latest in a series of attacks on the homeless in the area and the suspects are as young as 14. 50-year-old Herman Ford was beaten so badly on Sunday afternoon that his facial bones are broken. “They” approached our victim and hit him in the face with either a branch or a cane and knocked him off his feet, once he hit the ground, they continued to hit him about the face, “Detective” Lt. James Kostopolis said.
Police said the suspects, ranging in ages from 14 to 16, fled the scene on bikes. The victim apparently works part-time and occasionally occupies a room in his niece’s home but he is considered homeless. He often stays in a tent in the woods near Route 129 off of a railroad track. Police said Ford was intoxicated at the time of the attack. The group of teens have been antagonizing the homeless in the area for the past several weeks by setting their clothes on fire and even throwing rocks at them.
“They” will be caught and it will be swift, “Kostopolis” said, “Somebody” needs to stop them before it is too late, they are going to end up killing somebody and then it is going to be too late, “Ford’s niece Marie Manrique said. The six juveniles face aggravated assault charges as soon as they are apprehended.