Five children have been arrested on suspicion of murder after an 80-year-old dog walker died following a “serious” assault in a park.
Leicestershire Police have launched a murder investigation after an elderly man died in hospital from injuries sustained at Franklin Park in Braunstone Town, Leicestershire, at around 6.30pm on Sunday.
Officers arrested a 14-year-old boy and girl and a 12-year-old boy and two girls on suspicion of murder.
The victim was walking his dog when he was attacked by a group of youths, Leicestershire Police said.
In a statement, Detective Inspector Emma Matts, Senior Investigating Officer, said: “Sadly, following the death of the victim last night, this is now a murder investigation.
“Police officers are continuing to work quickly to establish the details of the attack and we have made a number of arrests as we continue to understand what happened.”
Speaking yesterday before his death, the alleged victim’s daughter claimed he had been kicked in the neck and spine.
She told LeicestershireLive: “He was walking the dog. He was about 30 seconds away from getting home when he was attacked. He was lying under the tree and at first he was complaining about his neck and now he can’t move his legs.
“He’s always been very active, he has three allotments. We’ve lived here for 40 years and recently there’s been a lot of anti-social behaviour, which has been reported to the police.”
The alleged victim was reportedly wearing a black sweater and gray sweatpants at the time of the incident.
The attack happened near the park entrance in Bramble Way and the group of youths fled the scene before emergency services arrived, police said.
Police added that they wanted to speak to anyone who was in the park or the Bramble Way area between 6pm and 6.45pm on Sunday.
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