On Monday night, about 9pm, a man around the corner from me was out walking his dog around 29th and Ogden when approached by a group of young black males who asked if his dog bites. One then punched him in the nose, breaking it(required stitches), knocking him down, and then running away. They did not take anything from him.

Also this week, the same thing happened to a teenager on 25th street (below brown st., but I'm not entirely sure). I believe he was punched, but they also tried to take his wallet. He ran and ended up at 24th and Brown, where some guys from Jumbos Bar chased them away. The cops caught a couple, and interestingly enough, said they wish they could have left them at 24th and Brown for the guys in the bar to deal with. haha.

The police said that this has been going on and appears to be type of initiation/rite of passage bullshit, with the goal being to knock someone out with one punch.

Anyway, keep your eyes open out there, especially at night. It's summer and these jackasses have nothing better to do with their time. Oh, and should you run into a group of punks like this, try to lead them to the nearest neighborhood bar, preferably one with a tough crowd. Or call the police, whichever you prefer.

Sadly it just reinforces my belief that I will cross the street when I see any group of young kids on my side of the street.

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hey matt, thanx for the head's up

I'm shocked that it was young black males doing this.

Stay safe, matty.

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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."

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This **** springs up periodically around Temple. It's usually the same group of kids that terrorize a few unfortuante passers-by. Eventually they get clipped by the police, and a few weeks/months later a new batch is at it again. The "initiation" thing sounds about right. I wish there was more that could be done to keep these kids out of gangs (which is likely what they're being initiated into). This sucks all around.

What's the status of the neighborhood watch in fairmount? I thought I heard they were fairly active,

black... white... asian..... who cares???? There's a problem with all of our youth.

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Unless you are the lead dog, you will always have the same view!

Skin color is a logical identifier, as you very well know. I do agee, that our urban youth needs some help...

The group of three or four black teens were caught. However, stay on your toes they do get out to do it again.

true, I hate when I am walking through chinatown and the asian kids come up and punch me in the face.