Army Captain Nearly Beaten To Death By Eight Men

A U.S. Army captain suffered critical injuries after he was repeatedly punched and kicked by a gang of eight men in an upscale shopping/entertainment district of Kansas City, Missouri.

The brutal beating reportedly occurred outside a restaurant in the Country Club Plaza area of the city.

The dispute apparently got started when the soldier, who is stationed at Fort Leavenworth, accidentally bumped into a another man in the restaurant who became hostile despite receiving an apology. The manager asked that man to leave the premises.

When the army captain, who is a Purple Heart recipient, and his friends left the restaurant, eight suspects — including the man kicked out of the restaurant — jumped him. After the melee, the attackers fled the scene in a white vehicle before cops arrived.

“The 37-year-old soldier suffered a significant loss of blood after he suffered numerous broken bones in his face, possible optic nerve damage to one of his eyes, and a skull fracture. The man’s injuries were serious, but he is expected to survive, according to a Kansas City police report,” KCTV, Channel 5 in Kansas City, reported.

The solider’s friends also were attacked and injured by the mob after coming to his defense. EMTs treated them at the scene.

The G.I.’s brother described what happened to Fox 4, WDAF-TV, in Kansas City.

“They were repeatedly kicking and punching him, there’s no other intent but to kill. It’s horrible…It really is a miracle that my brother survived that attack. He now has more than two dozen metal plates in his face and forehead, and I have no doubt he could’ve died and they didn’t care.”

Cops have to yet make any arrests even though one of the suspects left a debit car behind in the restaurant bar. The venue apparently has no security cameras. Authorities have requested the public’s help in identifying the assailants.

The hospital has subsequently upgraded the captain’s status to good condition.

“The brutal attack has stirred outrage on social media in part because the victim and his friends are white while the attackers were young black men in their mid to late 20s,” KCTV added.

Reacting to the attack on the active duty solider, a blog called Tony’s Kansas City claims that the criminal activity in the Country Club Plaza district, where the Plaza Art Fair took place this weekend, is a recurring problem, and visitors there should practice situational awareness.

“This incident is just one of many crimes which are more pervasive than people think on the Country Club Plaza. For years the upscale district is home to robberies, car thefts and violent confrontation up to and including violent teen flash mobs.”

The blog posting noted that beefed-up police patrols in the past two years have prevented “teens from taking over the Plaza.”

[image credit: Charvex]

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