The victim of the Thursday night attack, who suffered abrasions and was bleeding, declined medical treatment.
HOLYOKE – Four juveniles, armed with pipes, sticks and bottles, have been charged in what police describe as an unprovoked attack Thursday night on a 51-year-old man who had been collecting cans and bottles on Jackson Street.
The incident started shortly before 9 p.m. when the youths approached the man near 82 Jackson St. and tipped over the shopping cart that he had been pushing, Capt. Arthur R. Monfette.
The victim, visibly upset when police arrived, told the officers that he did not know his attackers and that the assault was completely unprovoked.
“There doesn’t even look like there is a motive for this,” Monfette said. “It looks like they did it for fun.”
The victim, who suffered abrasions on his shins and hands and was bleeding, declined medical assistance, Monfette said.
The suspects fled north on Commercial Street and police apprehended them a short time later. Two of the suspects are 12-years-old and two are 14, police documents state.
Neighbors corroborated the story and the victim subsequently identified the four as being his attackers. Each of the suspects faces a single count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.