Near a Forest Park gas station, a disabled man was able to fight off four teens who were attempting to steal his car. On January 30th at around 5 in the afternoon, Chris Mancle was attacked. The teens approached him, pushed his belongings onto the ground, and then began punching him, mostly in the head.
The store’s surveillance camera caught the attack. Mancle reported that it was very unexpected to walk out of a gas station and have to immediately defend himself. Mancle was born with a congenital condition calls arthrogryposis, which affects the person’s limbs and joints. The video surveillance shows that Mancle walked out of the building, and toward his vehicle, two teens approached him from behind, while two other teens got into his car.
Mancle not only fought off the two teen attackers but then proceeded to his vehicle and prevented the vehicle theft. The two teens in the vehicle also attacked him. One teen was arrested shortly after, and the owner of the gas station contacted police immediately. The three other teens took off on foot.
On February 18th, there were a total of three teens arrested in the Z Food Mart attack. Their identities are still withheld due to their age. It is also unclear what charges they will face for the assault. It’s clear that the group attacked with a plan and intent to steal his vehicle. In theory, that should open up charges for attempted theft as well as assault. It is also unclear if the charges or cases will account for Mancle’s disability. It may become clear whether the teens targeted him because of his disability or not.
As the story unfolds, Forest Park police are not able to share much information because of the ages of the accused. The fourth teen is still at large.
Source: https://www.news-daily.com/news/juveniles-arrested-in-z-food-mart-attack-on-disabled-man/article_ddc5ee34-5282-11ea-8c26-a30d8876a67c.html
