Posted on 11/16/2006 11:14:00 AM PST by Yaelle
LONG BEACH - Hundreds of residents attended a community forum Wednesday to discuss the brutal mob beating of three young women in Bixby Knolls on Halloween.
The auditorium at Hughes Middle School, 3846 California Ave., was nearly filled to capacity for the two-hour session.
Almost all of those who spoke said they were horrified by the beating and wanted to know what could be done to avoid such crimes in the future.
The incident involved a group of 20 to 40 black youths who attacked three white victims, according to the victims and witnesses.
The victims - two of whom are 19 and the third 21 years old - were going to see a popular haunted house set up in the 3800 block of Linden Avenue when the melee broke out, they said.
They suffered concussions, cuts and bruises and had their jewelry and clothes stolen after they were pummeled by males and females who surrounded them and hurled racial slurs as they punched, kicked and jumped on them.
The most seriously injured victim suffered a dozen fractures to one side of her face.
So far, police have arrested a dozen juveniles between the ages of 12 to 17 in connection with the beating. Ten were captured the night of the incident Advertisement and identified by witnesses and the victims. Two were arrested the following week.
The investigation is ongoing, North Division Cmdr. Scott Robertson said Tuesday night, adding that he could not discuss specifics because of the pending criminal case.
All of the arrested youths - nine girls and three boys - are being held at Los Padrinos Juvenile Detention Center pending trial on charges of assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury.
Police arrested the youths on suspicion of multiple felonies, including hate crime allegations.
So far, those allegations have not been included in the district attorney's filing. That may change if evidence to support the charge is found, the district attorney's office has said.
The brutality of the attack shocked many in the city and ignited emotions.
Outrage over the lack of hate crime charges was swift, as were questions about whether the right people were arrested and whether the victims did something to trigger the attack.
All of the victims have denied that allegation, saying they tried to walk away when they were first insulted and pelted with lemons and small pumpkins, then surrounded by the crowd and chased down the street.
Tempers flared Tuesday night when one speaker referred to a rumor that one of "the white girls" slapped one of the suspects "who had nothing to do with the fight."
His comment was followed by a terse comment from another speaker who sarcastically wondered why the late-Martin Luther King Jr. was not at the community forum.
Cmdr. Robertson quickly interjected that there is no justification for violence, and City Councilwoman Rae Gabelich - who noted at the start of the forum that hateful or volatile comments would not be tolerated - then stepped in to calm the audience.
She too, however, was questioned by several residents demanding to know why the forum was not announced until the day prior, and why even then the announcements were limited to only certain residences.
"I was trying to keep it out of the press," she said.
The councilwoman went on to say the forum was designed to help the neighborhood most affected by the incident and that having the media involved would only exacerbate the issue.
Her comments drew heavy criticism from some residents who accused her of trying to suppress public information.
One teenage girl, who identified herself only as a Jordan High School student, said she would have liked her community to have been included because they too suffered fallout from the events on Halloween.
"I don't think this meeting should have just been for this community," the girl said.
"What do I do if people want to come to my neighborhood to retaliate," she asked, saying that some of the youths who were arrested are Jordan students.
Police and district attorney officials have not identified the suspects because they are minors.
Still others, including Gabelich, blamed the media - and specifically the Press-Telegram - for covering the incident. While some felt the press has already tried and convicted the defendants, others accused the newspaper of not pursuing the story more aggressively.
Gabelich started the forum with stern words about the news coverage, accusing the Press-Telegram and other media outlets of fueling "a growing fear and anger in the community."
Despite the charged atmosphere and strong emotions stirred by the incident, most of those who spoke did so calmly and respectfully.
Many said they appreciated the opportunity to discuss the events, and most said they hoped the community could use the incident as a rallying point to come together.
Several people expressed regret that a popular holiday tradition - one enjoyed by a record crowd of some 1,500 to 2,000 people that night, according to residents' estimates - would never be the same.
Residents are divided on what to do next year, with some advocating more police presence in the area and neighborhood watch patrols and others vowing never to pass out candy to trick-or-treaters again.
Robertson explained that other holidays - such as the Fourth of July and New Years - result in an increase of police officers in key areas of the city, but Halloween usually results in few problems.
"In light of what happened this year, we may decide (next year) to bring in more officers," he said.
Anitra Dempsey, the city's Human Dignity Officer, talked about the city's pledge to help the victims in any way it can, and her offices' efforts to work with the community to ensure the incident does not divide residents or fuel hostilities.
The night before, the chairman of the city's Human Relations Commission - which works to promote better understanding of the diverse ethnic and cultural groups in the city - told the City Council that his group plans to monitor the ongoing investigation in the case.
Officials with the National Conference for Community and Justice of Southern California have said they also intend to monitor the case and take any necessary measures to prevent retaliation or unrest in the community.
The meeting ended with Gabelich asking the audience if another forum was needed.
Roughly half of the residents agreed and the councilwoman said that another meeting will be scheduled in early December.
Several City Council members, Police Chief Anthony Batts and members of the Long Beach Unified School District Board attended the event but did not speak.
Tracy Manzer can be reached at tracy.manzer@presstelegram.com or (562) 499-1261.
Interesting about the attack in Las Vegas. On CSI, I believe they deliberately took race out of it by putting minorities in both the perp and victim groups, if I recall correctly?
Yes, we are a neighborhood bordered on north and south (and west somewhat as well) by gang-infested neighborhoods. And not all that far from Compton, either. Yet our neighborhood contains a private country club, and stately homes from all decades of the 20th century.
I also remember very clearly that not far away was very poor neighborhoods and The Projects public housing. A couple of years ago we had to go into California for an office Christmas gathering on the Queen Mary and driving through Harbor City and Wilmington areas I was struck by how little that area has changed over the years.
The animals that attacked these girls didn't seem too concerned about it ...
Are we so feeble that we can't handle knowing the truth?
Oh, we all KNOW the truth. It's just that the "leaders" we've appointed to represent us are afraid of SPEAKING it.
The local Lib rag The Press Telegram has run many articles on this incident, mostly on the back pages but when it first happened it was on the front page.
I say send them all to Somalia.
The PT had two days of headline front page articles on the attack, Weds and Thurs of this week, I believe. A liberal rag, to be sure, but this is getting some attention.
Bixby Knolls is a nice area, but it borders on a really crappy area.
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