Three youths -- two of them age 10! -- are accused of brutally beating a homeless man near Daytona Beach. One of the 10-year-olds actually hit the man, age 58, with parts of a concrete wall. These two are the youngest who've ever been accused of a crime like this.
I can't tell you how many stories I've seen like this over the last year. Turns out, there's actually been a big upswing in the number of attacks on homeless people, especially by teens. The National Coalition for the Homeless says there were 142 such attacks and 20 murders in 2006. CNN has a good report on the topic.
The National Coalition says the number of attacks jumped 65 percent from 2005 and increased more than 170 percent since 2001. The group says these cases should be considered hate crimes. No word on how prevalent this is here in Missouri and Kansas. But Florida seems to be a hot spot. (Photo is via CNN. The 10-year-olds are the ones in the white jumpsuits.)
Hat Tip: Thanks, BS Steve!
