DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A 15-year-old Orange City boy was arrested Friday and faces a felony battery charge after “repeatedly punching a 16-year-old victim in an attack motivated by prejudice against gay people,” according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
Both teens, who News 6 will not identify, were residing at an adolescent treatment facility in Daytona Beach where surveillance video allegedly showed the 15-year-old approach the sitting victim after calling him a common slur used against gay people, deputies said.
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The victim told deputies that the teen continued to call him the slur and accused him of “snitching” to staff about the name calling before striking him multiple times in the face with a closed fist, mounting him and punching him several more times before staff could intervene, according to an incident report.
Responding deputies said the victim was left with a partially swollen shut eye, redness and abrasions to his face, as well as a potentially broken wrist, according to the report. The victim was taken to the hospital due to the severity of his injuries, deputies said.
Deputies concluded that the attack was a hate crime and found probable cause to charge the Orange City teen accordingly with felony battery, records show. The teen was also charged with violation of probation that stemmed from a previous arrest for battery, deputies said. He was transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice, according to a news release.
An investigation is ongoing, during which surveillance video would not be released, deputies said.