Four teens are accused of a violent attack on a man outside South Station in Boston on Friday, according to the Boston Police Department.
The teens, a 15-year-old from Allston, a 16-year-old from Allston, and two more 16-year-olds from South Boston, will face assault and battery and larceny charges in Boston Municipal juvenile court. The teens were not arrested or publicly identified.
The attack happened near Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street, and sent the 20-year-old victim to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The victim's father told NBC10 Boston over the weekend that his son is now out of the hospital. He has a broken nose and is recovering from a concussion.
On Tuesday, Adam Neufell’s parents told NBC10 Boston that nothing much has changed regarding their son's health, but the concussion is more serious than they thought. They say -- per doctor’s orders -- their son can’t be on his phone or watch TV, listen to loud music or be stimulated by light -- nothing that can aggravate him as he tries to recover from last week’s brutal attack.
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“It’s pretty scary to see something like that happen because it could be you at any time,” said Andres Otero who often walks by South Station at night.
Otero told NBC10 Boston he was glad to hear the update from police Tuesday.
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“It’s really good to see that something like that happens and the people responsible can be liable for that,” he added.
Anthony Grant hopes the punishment will be harsh enough to make others think twice.
“You have to send a message to deter them, the teenagers from doing it,” said Grant. “It’s nothing new. Expect the unexpected. You just have to have your guard up.”
"They need to prosecute these kids to the fullest extent. I mean this is unforgivable behavior," Dina Warshall, a friend of the victim's family, told NBC10 Boston a day after the attack. "There's no cause for a group full of punk kids, jumping out of a car, yelling derogatory at another person because of how long their hair is and amongst other things and then to go beat them like that."
Friday's incident appears to have been captured on video by a passerby, and shows a group kicking and punching Neufell and shoving his girlfriend. Boston police have said they're aware of a video circulating online that shows the alleged attack but would not confirm it is the same incident. They did note, however, that the video is consistent with what they have learned through their investigation so far.
NBC10 Boston also spoke with the father of the victim Saturday night who said his son was in town with his girlfriend when he was attacked. The couple reportedly had issues with the MBTA and missed the last train of the night Thursday.
The dad says his son and his girlfriend were waiting for her parents to pick them up when a group of four people inside a car started yelling slurs at them. That group then got out of the car and started attacking the man, which can be seen on video. The group drove away after the victim was knocked to the ground unconscious.
The victim's father noted his son is in a band and has long hair, unsure if that's why the group targeted him.
A witness recorded video of the incident -- which has since been widely shared on social media -- and then AirDropped it to the victim's girlfriend.
"What reason for four people attacking somebody? It's awful to watch as a parent, as a friend, it's awful," Warshall said. "It's just unexplainable, there's no excuse for it."
"You know, thank God he's alive, but it was absolutely devastating, it was gut wrenching just to watch the video," she added. "It's horrendous."
