Two boys who attend Culver City High School were attacked by perhaps a dozen juveniles on Friday afternoon as they walked west on Braddock Drive, toward Veterans Park, setting off a chain explosion of well-intentioned but some conflicting and erroneous reports from concerned parents to peers and to city officials.
The mother of one of the boys, who are 15 and 16 years old, said both emerged relatively unscathed.
An I-phone carried by one of the boys was said to have been the target of the assaulting group, comprised of 15- to 17-year-olds.
District Security Director Ted Yant and his aides were the heroes of the hour. Almost astonishingly, they captured eight of the suspected attackers and detained them until the Police Dept. arrived.
Police Lt. Milt McKinnon said this afternoon that seven of the juveniles — who are not considered gang members by the department — were arrested and charged with robbery. The cited teens were removed to the Eastlake Juvenile Detention Center.
Supt. Dr. Myrna Rivera Cote sent the following email to a concerned parent yesterday after false or unintentionally distorted accusations began circulating through the school community:
I received a call late Friday afternoon regarding police activity on the high school blacktop. I immediately emailed the Board of Education that an incident had occurred. On Monday, I received a full report from Culver City Unified School District’s Security Supervisor, Ted Yant. I’d like to correct some of the misinformation that was in the original email (sent by the parent of one of the victims).
1. At this time, there is no confirmation that the juveniles are members of any gang.
2. The police did not catch the suspects; School Security officers did. The police were able to take them into custody because Mr. Yant called them to see if they would cite the group for trespassing on District property. While on the phone, the police notified Mr. Yant that a robbery had just occurred near the high school. They described the suspects as five male black juveniles. The police were told that School Security was currently detaining eight juveniles that fit the description. The police were directed to the location where School Security was detaining the subjects. Seven of the subjects were arrested. Two of the juveniles later confessed to the robbery.
3. School Security has no information of any student being robbed in the past few weeks.
4. The recent police shooting did not have an impact on the patrols throughout the city.
5. The Culver City Unified School District does not have a police department. School Security’s ability to protect students is limited to District property, and they have no authority to get involved in crimes that occur off School District property.
6. The Police Dept. has also received a copy of the email. I would like to commend our Security Department for their actions relative to this situation and many others. The outstanding support we receive from the CCPD is in part due to strong collaborative efforts between the two departments.
Here is perhaps the most widely distributed email of all, from the mother of one of the victims.
Hi Everyone,
It took me about 24 hours to think about what message I need to pass on, after a sleepless night. Yesterday, Friday, May 7th, my son & his friend were attacked after school about 3:15 p.m., on Braddock about two blocks east of Elenda, heading towards Veterans park.
There was a pack of about 10-12 young men who followed the two boys, saw they had an I-phone, and demanded their property. They hit one boy in the head and tried to grab the other. Thank God, they ran. The friend lost his backpack as they grabbed him, and he lost all his school work and his new glasses. Thank God, again they ran so fast that they finally stopped following them.
They called the police, and believe it or not, they caught 6 of them, and they were arrested. At least 4-6 more probably escaped. The perpetrators were caught trying to go through the Braddock entrance to the CCHS sports fields, Two of the six had been arrested for armed robbery before, according to the friend's mom. She fortunately is a parole officer, and I trust her to make sure they all get what they deserve.
I sent this email to each of you so that you warn your children to look out for groups of kids they don't know. With the economy as it is, you never know who is going to rob you for what. Please just reinforce the safety issues with your kids, and tell them just to give up their property and run if they have to. I am so relieved that my son and his friend, are OK. I don't know if these gangs had knives or what, but I just say a prayer now every night that my son and his friend were not hurt.
Finally, one of the numerous parents who received the above email appended his own urgent thoughts:
My own opinion is that if there was a heavier CCPD presence during arrival and departure times at potential targets like CCHS there wouldn't be “wolf packs” looking for victims. They would be elsewhere seeking easier prey…
I urge all of you to contact the CCUSD School Board and the City Council to let them know how you feel about traffic and safety issues around our schools. We cannot be satisfied with, as my daughter says, “it happens all the time.”
