Jason Rios just wanted a hamburger.
The 15-year-old from Watts was sitting down with a friend to dinner on an outdoor patio at Freedom Plaza near Century Boulevard on Tuesday when, without warning, three boys attacked Jason and his friend from behind, beating them as they They were rushing to take shelter.
No one intervened, according to Humberto Rios, Jason’s older brother. No security guards were present when Jason fell to the ground and shielded his head with his arms while his attackers kicked and punched him. The attackers appeared to be targeting the boys and did not attempt to rob them, according to the family.
“We don’t think he said anything to these other people before they attacked him,” Humberto Rios said.
The Simon Tech High School A-level student underwent eight-hour emergency surgery after the attack to stop the bleeding on his brain. His friend was also hospitalized. On Wednesday, police arrested a minor suspected of attempted murder; two other suspects remain at large, Los Angeles police said in a press release.
“There’s no explanation as to why this happened,” said Jason’s older sister, Nayeli Rios. “Jason never goes out. We always make sure to drive him to and from school. He just stays home and plays video games like Fortnite.
Jason turned 15 on May 10, a few days before the attack. He asked his mother to let him go on a typical teenage outing: eating hamburgers with a friend. His family relented and told him to make sure he had his phone on, Nayeli Rios said.
On Monday, Jason and his friend ate burgers on the outdoor patio of Habit Burger Grill. Like a typical teenager, Jason would come home and play video games without mentioning his dinner. He let his family know that everything went without incident.
On Tuesday, Jason returned with his friend to the same outdoor patio. Shortly before 7 p.m., they were attacked. The attackers hit Jason several times in the head and punched and kicked him. He fell, but was able to get up and escape, Humberto Rios said.
Humberto Rios then described what happened next.
The teen stayed at Freedom Plaza and ran to a nearby Panda Express where he called his mother in a panic. She could tell her son had been attacked, but she couldn’t make out much else because his speech was slurred.
“She couldn’t understand it. Only half of his words came out of his mouth,” Humberto Rios said.
She went to the Panda Express, but saw nothing unusual: no ambulance, no police vehicle.
She looked around the restaurant and found her son lying on a patio bench. He looked up but couldn’t say anything.
Freedom Plaza’s property management company did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
The family took Jason to MLK Community Hospital in Willowbrook. But medical staff didn’t believe Jason had been attacked or seemed to notice that the boy was vomiting blood, said his sister, Nayeli Rios.
“A doctor asked Jason if he was drunk,” she said. “They didn’t seem to believe he had been attacked and hit in the head.”
Jason was unable to keep his eyes open and was shaking while waiting for medical attention, according to his family.
MLK Community Hospital did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Rios family’s experience, but what is clear is that Jason was ultimately able to have a scan of his brain. Doctors discovered bleeding in his brain, Nayeli Rios said. He was transferred to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance and hospitalized for emergency surgery. Jason was in surgery for nearly eight hours, Humberto Rios said, and was released around 6 a.m. Wednesday with a tube down his throat.
Nayeli Rios saw that her brother’s shaggy hair had been shaved for the operation and that he could only see out of one eye due to swelling. Doctors removed the tube from his mouth Thursday morning and reduced his sedation, Humberto Rios said. Half awake, Jason’s words were garbled or too quiet for anyone to hear. All his family could do was hold his hand.
On Friday, he underwent a second operation, Nayeli Rios said. Jason’s family started a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for his medical expenses.
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