A Columbus mother is urging parents to know where their kids are at all times and who they’re with after a group of teens beat up her 12-year-old son.
Jasmine Johnson said her son, Demiyon, visits the library every day after school to read and play games.
When she picked him up just before 8 p.m. on April 14, she immediately sensed something was wrong.
“You could be at the wrong place at the wrong time at a library,” Johnson said.
Security footage from the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Linden Branch shows one teen approaching Demiyon and punching him in the face. Three other teens, appearing to wear masks, then joined in and continued hitting him until he fell to the ground.
“I was devastated,” said Johnson. “I was mad. Mad is an understatement, because he’s a good kid.”
Johnson said her son is on the spectrum. She added that the suspects caused him to suffer a concussion. According to her, Demiyon does not know the suspects or what led to the attack.
“He didn’t even know it was coming with them surrounding him,” she said. “He still didn’t know. He’s thinking, Mommy, they wanna be my friend. And as we all seen, that was not the case.”
Columbus police said they are investigating the incident, but none of the teens are currently facing charges. The suspects remain listed as “unknown” in the police report.
“I feel like they should be held accountable, because if it is them that are going around beating up kids for no reason, it’s gonna continue, right? Because there’s no accountability,” Johnson said.
Johnson also believes the parents of the suspects should take responsibility.
“I just want things to be better,” she said. “I want us to care not only about our children but other people’s kids, you know? If it were me and my kid did this to a kid, I would meet up with the parents, and I would sincerely apologize, and he would be doing that little boy’s laundry for the rest of the month or something.”
“Right now, it’s time more than ever that the village has to come back,” said Ralph Carter, founder of We Are Linden.
Carter said incidents like this may stem from boredom.
“They’re gonna do something, they can get a quick laugh, but they don’t know that they just left someone in that destruction path that ultimately they hurt,” Carter said.
As Demiyon continues to recover, his mother said the attack disrupted a positive phase in his life.
“This was a stepping stone for him to get out of his shell and come somewhere that he start liking it,” she said. “And he still comes here. He still comes here even after his assault. The next day my son was here. And he doesn’t wanna stop coming here, and he shouldn’t have to, right?”
The Columbus Metropolitan Library sent the following statement to ABC 6/FOX 28:
“We take safety and security very seriously at Columbus Metropolitan Library. Our 23 locations serve as community gathering spaces where we work with young minds and adults to build foundations for successful lives. It’s upsetting anytime we experience incidents of violence in our communities, and we work closely with law enforcement when they occur. We’re happy that this young man has returned to the branch in the days since.”
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