Video captures teen attacked after HS football game in NW Indiana
LAKE STATION, Ind. (WLS) -- A 14-year-old boy was seriously injured Friday night when he was brutally beaten after a high school football game.
The attack in Lake Station, Ind., was captured on cellphone video and the boy's mother wants the attackers to be held responsible.
Frankie Coulter was airlifted to Comer Children's Hospital in Chicago and temporarily placed in a medically induced coma Friday night. He sustained a broken nose, broken ankle and a concussion, but is expected to recover.
"I was scared to death. He's got a neck brace on. He's got tubes breathing for him. He couldn't breathe on his own," said Coulter's mother, Kristine King.
Coulter was taking pictures for the school newspaper during the highly anticipated rivalry game between River Forest High School in Hobart, Ind., and Edison Junior Senior High School in Lake Station, Ind. The game was held at Edison, where Coulter is a freshman.
The New Chicago Police Department is handling the case, but are not staffed on the weekend and could not immediately be reached for comment.
However, the fight was caught on cellphone video.
Witness Trisha Nalley said she recognized the attackers.
"We get to the boy. He's not moving. He's unconscious. He was bleeding from his nose and his mouth. So I took my blanket and put it under his head. He immediately started seizing," Nalley said.
Nalley said she recognized the attackers as a group of boys who've bullied and fought with her son in the past. She has even filed multiple police reports about one boy. She tried to get a restraining order but was unsuccessful since they all attend Edison.
"I was actually going to leave at halftime but my son came up to me and said there was an issue going on so I had to stay the entire game," Nalley said. "So upon exiting the game, I really thought for a minute it was my son."
Christine Pepa, principal of Edison, said in a statement that they are aware of the situation. "We have zero tolerance for bullying and fighting ... We cannot comment on details regarding the students involved, but are disciplining according to our student handbook and school policy," the statement said.
However, King, Coulter's mother, said she believes Edison is turning a blind eye, refusing to discipline someone with a known history.
"This is ridiculous. The one thing they should be able to do is go to a school function without getting beat up," King said.
