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Juveniles arrested after allegedly luring, then assaulting gay man
Four juveniles were apprehended and face charges in connection with an alleged assault in Tower that was captured and streamed via social media.
While many details remain under wraps because of the age of the alleged assailants, Breitung Police Chief Dan Reing confirmed reports of a July 22 incident and said he has seen a video of it that had been captured and streamed on TikTok.
“(The video) has been going around,” said Reing.
Reing also confirmed that there were “four assailants” and one victim, who was reportedly a gay man lured to the scene by one of the assailants, using an internet dating site.
Three juveniles were arrested and a fourth has since been apprehended, according to Reing.
It’s not clear if any of the suspects remain in custody as records of juveniles housed in jail are not made public, in contrast with the daily jail roster released by St. Louis County.
A source who had seen video of the incident indicated the victim was attacked by multiple people using an unidentified object. Reing said the victim received medical treatment.
The nature of the charges against them could not yet be confirmed by the Echo as of press time.
Attempts to reach the St. Louis County Attorney’s office were not successful as of Thursday.
The incident occurred near the old train depot in Tower during the evening hours of July 22, and a witness reportedly aided in stopping the assault and alerting authorities.
