Four of the five high school students in custody charged with a crime after a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student was brutally attacked last week have been photographed for the first time.
Chinua Leefatt, 15, Jordan Thompson, 16, Caleb Hensley, 17, and Sylvester Hicks Jr., 16, are all in custody and their mugshots have been released. Jahmeer Beautziel, 17, remains excellent.
All of the charged attackers attend MSD, except Leefatt, who attends Coral Glades High School.
Video of the shocking fight shows a teenage boy carrying the victim over his shoulder before slamming his head into the concrete, cracking his skull and rendering him unconscious.
A friend of the victim said 15 people chased him before the brutal attack that occurred as he walked to the school parking lot.
The video shows at least two attackers continuing to hit the victim after he was knocked to the ground.
Chinua Leefatt, 15, left, and Jordan Thompson, 16, have been charged with misdemeanor assault
Caleb Hensley, 17, left, and Sylvester Hicks Jr., 16, were also charged and are in custody
Video of the shocking fight shows a teenage boy carrying the victim over his shoulder before slamming his head into the concrete, knocking him unconscious
Several other teenage boys then approach the student and appear to try to help him, but he does not respond
Several other teenage boys then approach the student and appear to try to help him, but he does not respond.
Witnesses said that a teenager pulled a knife during the altercation last Tuesday.
Patrick Fox, a friend of the victim, said WSVN: 'I was there when they started chasing him, but when I left he was just in an ambulance leaving, so I heard he had a fractured skull or something.'
The student who was attacked was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after the attack and is now reportedly recovering at home.
Coral Springs detectives made arrests overnight Thursday, taking all four to the Juvenile Assessment Center.
They have all been charged with one offence, which police say reflects 'the serious nature of their actions'.
“Our detectives worked tirelessly around the clock, along with our law enforcement partners, including the Broward Sheriff's Office and the Broward County State Attorney's Office, to quickly identify and arrest the individuals involved,” police said in a statement.
“The safety of our community and schools remains our top priority,” police said.
“This remains an ongoing investigation and additional arrests may be possible. We would like to reassure the public that such behavior will not be tolerated.”
Broward County School Board President Lori Alhadeff also released a statement about the attack:
“This incident is deeply disturbing and we are grateful that the injured student is recovering. Our thoughts are with him, his family and all families affected.
“We are grateful to the Coral Springs Police Department and the school administration for working quickly to identify the five students. Their arrests serve as a crucial lesson about the serious consequences a person's actions can have.”
A friend of the victim said 15 people chased him before the brutal attack
The five have all been charged with one offence, which police say reflects 'the serious nature of their actions'.
The video shows at least two assailants continuing to hit the victim even after he was knocked to the ground
The school in Parkland, Florida, was the site of one of the nation's worst mass shootings, which left 17 students and staff dead in 2018.
Nicolas Cruz, now 24, was sentenced to life in prison in October 2022 for the Valentine's Day 2018 high school massacre.
Jurors reached a verdict recommending a life sentence after just a day of deliberations and a three-month trial that included harrowing videos and photos, heartbreaking testimony from victims' relatives and a tour of the still blood-spattered school building.
The massacre is the deadliest mass shooting ever tried in the US
The shooting stunned the nation and reignited the debate over gun control, as Cruz had legally purchased the gun he used, despite his history of mental problems.
On March 24, 2018, nationwide marches inspired by school shooting survivors and parents of victims brought together 1.5 million people – the largest public turnout ever in defense of stricter gun control laws in America.
But the Parkland shooting did not lead to significant reforms and gun sales have continued to rise.
There have been other mass shootings, including one in May 2022 that left 19 young children and two adults dead at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.