Gang of Somali Kids Attack Maine Residents at a Lewiston Park

It was an otherwise pleasant evening in Maine when two dozen Somali youth swarmed and attacked two local residents in Kennedy Park last Thursday evening.

The Somali mob attacked around 7:45 pm, just as the sun was setting on this historic city park in the heart of Maine’s second largest city.

A local mother recorded as a mob of teens and children, boys and girls as young as nine years old, brandishing wooden bats and other objects, along with fists, feet and sheer numbers to attack the two non-Somali defenders. At one point you can even here one of the hoodlums repeatedly daring the woman to, “stop me, b**ch.”

Lewiston Police tell Maine First Media one of the victims was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. However, no charges were filed.

Lewiston Mayor, Shane Bouchard says these types of incidents are common at Kennedy Park, but points to Lewiston’s low crime rate.

“Kennedy Park is a large common space in the middle of some of the poorest census tracts in the Northeast,” Mayor Bouchard said. “When you have large, diverse groups of people in the same place you are bound to have incidents. Lewiston is no different in that respect than any other medium to large city, except that Lewiston’s violent crime rate is one of the lowest in Maine.”

While the Mayor brings up Lewiston’s violent crime statistics, it is important to note, in this case, the victim didn’t press charges, meaning, statistically there was no crime. Incidents like this often go unreported and are not reflected in the numbers — something even Mayor Bouchard has to admit.

“In this particular case, the person who was attacked declined to press charges, therefore under the law, there was no victim, therefore no crime,” said Mayor Bouchard.

Witnesses at the park say the attack started when one of the victims asked one of the attackers to use a lighter for his cigarette. However, Lewiston Police are reviewing the video and have not determined an official motivation for this gang assault.

This is far from the first incident of Somalian attacks at Kennedy Park. Recently, a 10-year-old girl was jumped and beaten by a Somali girl at the park. As such occurrences become more common in Lewiston, many lifelong residents are now afraid to bring their own children to play.

Some residents say police officers tell them the safest thing would be not to bring their kids to the park anymore. However, according to Lewiston Police Department Public Information Officer, Lieutenant David St. Pierre, that is not the department’s stance.

“I am not aware of officers advising parents to refrain from bringing their children to the park,” Lt. St. Pierre said. “We at the Lewiston Police strive to make it a safe and enjoyable environment for all.”

Lt. St. Pierre tells Maine First Media officers make regular passes through the park to provide a police presence whenever possible. Meanwhile, Mayor Bouchard says in light of recent problems, the police department is adding more patrols to the park, and they’re taking another step as well.

“Our community resource officers are reaching out to the leaders in our new Mainer community,” Mayor Bouchard said. “While we are fighting a cultural barrier, outreach to these groups has been successful in the past, and we are hopeful we can make some progress.”

https://mainefirstmedia.com/2018/05/gang-of-somali-kids-attack-park...