PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Security video released Friday by Philadelphia police shows seven teenagers fatally beating a man in his early 70s with a traffic cone.
James “Simmie” Lambert Jr., 73, died June 25, one day after the early-morning beating was captured on video, WCAU reported.
This is James “Simmie” Lambert, the man who was killed.
— Danny Freeman (@DannyEFreeman) July 8, 2022
His family tells me they’re heart broken and they saw him just hours before he was attacked.
They’re in disbelief a group of kids did this.@NBCPhiladelphia https://t.co/U0Lko1MCf5 pic.twitter.com/gtkY7UVe7I
The Philadelphia Police Department also announced a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case, NBC News reported.
According to police, Lambert was ambushed while walking at around 2:38 a.m. June 24 by four boys and three girls, believed to be in their early to mid-teens, WCAU reported.
It was not immediately clear if the teens knew Lambert or what occurred before the apparent assault, NBC News reported.
The video clearly shows Lambert attempting to elude the teenagers several times, at one point crossing the street, but their pursuit continued. Police intentionally blurred Lambert’s image in the video shared to YouTube.
“The teens struck the victim several times with objects, knocking the victim to the ground causing injuries to his head,” Philadelphia police wrote in a blog post.
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