
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 22, 1994                   TAG: 9410240044
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SARAH HUNTLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

2 CHARGED IN ATTACK AT LIBRARY

The first clue was the broken hand. The second was the boasting. Both were the downfall of three youths accused of randomly attacking a Patrick Henry High School senior as he left the main Roanoke Public Library last week.

Roanoke police charged two 15-year-old youths Friday in connection with the assault, which occurred around 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 11 as the victim and his younger sister crossed the library's front lawn. A detention order has been issued for a third suspect, a 16-year-old who was not immediately located, police said.

"Apparently one of the boys broke his hand on my son's face," the 17-year-old victim's father said Friday. "Then somebody at the school overheard the boy bragging about the attack. I don't know who informed police, but after reading the article [about the assault], that person put two and two together."

At least one of the suspects also attended Patrick Henry High School, the victim's father said, but police told the family the boy did not know the victim.

The victim was on his way to the parking lot after researching Mahatma Gandhi and nonviolence for a school project when he was stopped by four boys. As his 11-year-old sister watched, too terrified to move, three of the youths beat the boy with their fists.

The unprovoked attack left the victim with a concussion, as well as huge bruises and substantial swelling around his eyes and nose.

He is unable to remember anything about the confrontation or the beating. There are other gaps in his memory, such as his grandmother's funeral one week before the attack.

A fourth youth, who observed the beating but did not strike the victim, will not be charged, police said.

by CNB