Joliet Woman Attacked by Teens While Walking Down Street

A Joliet woman who was walking down Union Street with her boyfriend and another friend was attacked the evening of Aug. 23 by a group of teens, according to Joliet Deputy Police Chief Ed Gregory.

According to police, the person who began the attack was a heavyset, black, teenage girl with dreadlocks and was wearing a red hoodie. The victim stated her attacker also had a 3-year-old child with her. Police said the victim claimed she had not done anything to provoke the fight.

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Before the attack, the 26-year-old woman was with her 30-year-old boyfriend at the Daybreak Center located at 611 E. Cass St. in Joliet, but were unable to stay there because of a bedbug problem, according to police. The woman, her boyfriend and another friend went to go to a friend’s house for the night.

On their way, they passed a group of teenagers in the 200 block of Union Street.

“She heard people running up behind her,” Gregory said. “When she turned around, one of the female teenagers grabbed her by the hair and threw her to the ground.”

While on the ground, other teenagers began to attack her, as well. Police said eight black, teen girls were involved in the beating. Three boys were there, also, but police said they didn’t participate in the beating.

“She said she rolled up in a ball to protect herself,” Gregory said.

According to police, the boyfriend attempted to help her, but was blocked off by the three boys who formed a circle around the fight to prevent anyone else from stopping it. According to police, one of the boys filmed the beating as it happened.

The victim, who asked not to be identified, said she doesn’t know why she was targeted.

“I didn’t look at them wrong. I didn’t talk to them. We had no interaction whatsoever as they were passing,” she said. ”They physically picked up my glasses and broke them.”

She said she’s hopeful police will be able to get a usable fingerprint off the glasses.

Police canvassed the area and were unable to locate the teens. Officers reported seeing the same group of teenagers at Second and Richards St. but they had left the area. Officers went back to find the teens, but they could not be located.

The victim was taken to Presence St. Joseph Medical Center with visible swelling to her face and the hospital staff said her right arm near her wrist may have been fractured.

“I have two huge bumps to my forehead from them bashing my head into the ground,” she said. “I’ve lost a lost of hair. I’ve got a bald spot. I have a concussion. I have an injury to my knee, shoulder and wrist. I have to see an orthopedic surgeon,” she said. One bruise is the size of an 18-inch softball.

The victim said she would be able to identify one of the girls and one of the boys visually, but not by name.

The case is still being investigated and anyone with information should contact the Joliet Police Department.