Mom wants justice after `horrific' attack on son

Video shows group of young people punching, kicking teen with autism

The mother of an autistic teenage boy viciously attacked by a large group of youths at a bus stop outside Devonshire Mall on Saturday evening is appealing to the attackers to turn themselves in.

Police on Wednesday announced that a 14-year-old had been arrested in connection to the assault. “I would really like for these kids to just come forward, so that my son can have closure,” the mother told the Star in an interview. “He doesn't want to be a victim. He's not a victim. He's a survivor.

“He wants to heal from this and I believe that the way to heal is to see these kids take accountability, to see them reflect on what they've done, to understand the harm that they've caused and to show remorse. I think that's the only way that we're going to begin to heal from this.”

The Windsor Star is not publishing the name of the mother or her son to protect their identities.

The attack came as her son stood alone for a few minutes waiting for the bus, she said. A friend her son was with at the mall took a bus home in a different direction, so her son was alone for a few minutes. The Grade 11 student has been taking the bus to and from school to gain his independence, the mother said. She had gone to the mall to pick him up, but he insisted on taking the bus home. After he found himself alone, a group of youths approached him “very aggressively,” and he tried to run, she said.

“They pushed him against the wall. When he fell to the ground, he went in the fetal position and they just started beating on him.”

It is difficult to tell from a video of the incident how many people were involved in the attack, but the mother said she has heard reports of between 15 to 20 youths.

In a news release, Windsor police said “a 16-year-old boy was waiting for the bus when he was confronted, chased and attacked by a large group of teenagers. The group punched and kicked the victim before fleeing the scene.”

At one point, a group of youths can be seen in a video kicking him as he covers his head. As he tries to run, a girl can be heard to say, “Don't let him live. Come on, more.”

The victim's mother said she refused to watch the video, which was originally posted on Snapchat, but now appears to be gone. Still, her son captured the video and gave a copy to the police.

Police are attempting to identify other people involved and are urging anyone with video or dash cam evidence to contact the major crimes unit at 519-255-6700, ext. 4830. Police said earlier the victim had been transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Her son was taken to hospital by ambulance, his mother said. His injuries included a broken arm which he used to protect his head, a posture he learned through boxing training, his mother said. There appears to be no motive for the attack, she said, other than he was alone and perhaps that he was autistic.

“There are text messages circulating on Snapchat between kids. I have seen a lot of screenshots, so there is one boy that said that it was because he has autism. And another boy said it was because he was left alone.”

Her son has been bullied before, but never by a crowd, she said, adding her son did recognize some of his attackers from social media. One of them goes to his school, but that child in the video was just standing there. He wasn't being physical. But he also wasn't calling for help either.

Her son is “as good as he can be,” following the attack, she said.

“Had he not been using his arm to protect his head, he ... could have had a crushed skull.”

Her son is encouraged by the support he's had from friends and from others posting messages of support on social media, she said. “I think it makes him feel like he's not alone.”

But it's difficult to say what the long-term effects will be, she said.

“It's hard to say. Because of the autism, it's already difficult for him. Emotional regulation used to be a big problem. He's worked very, very hard at becoming really good at emotional regulation.

“To me, it seems like he's regressed a lot because of this incident. A lot of the hard work that we've put in over the past years has just been taken away from him and I don't know if that's just from the PTSD, or if this is going to be a permanent thing.”

Her son will likely have to make changes, she said. “He's going to have to get rides to and from school. He started taking the bus in September, so he's not going to be able to do that anymore.” But she'd like to see some other changes as a result of the attack.

“I would like to see a bigger police presence or security presence at the mall. I would like there to be more awareness surrounding the violence that we're having in our community.”

She said police have told her this is not the first time an incident like this has happened in that area.

“If I had known I wouldn't have let him take the bus.”

She is also seeking more public understanding about autism.

“I would also like there to just be a lot more awareness about autism. I think when people think of autism, they're thinking of non-verbal. He is verbal, he is in mainstream school. He gets very good grades. And so to the kids, it's like, well, he goes to school with us, he's not autistic. So it's hard for them to understand why he's different and I think it makes him an easier target.”

They are trying to focus on how to get on in a positive manner, she said.

“We keep talking about our gratitude, what we're grateful for. We're grateful that he had the skills that he learned in boxing to protect his head and run to safety. We're grateful that he didn't get a brain injury. We're grateful that we have a lot of support within our family and friend groups.”

But getting past this requires that the attackers face the consequences of their actions, she said. Parents who know their children were involved should make them turn themselves in, she said.

“I would absolutely make them make the right choices in order to learn and grow from the poor choices that they're making.”