A teen girl was assaulted and robbed while sitting on a bench in Long Beach on Thursday, and the violent mid-day attack was caught on video.
According to the Long Beach Police Department, officers responded to the area of Studebaker Road and Keynote Street at 3:09 p.m. on calls of a robbery.
Two teen girls were sitting on a bench and waiting to be picked up when surveillance video captured a black sedan pulling up with two men inside.
One suspect exits the car and walks over to where the teens are before sitting down next to them on the bench.
After sitting for a moment, the assailant suddenly lunged over and began throwing punches while violently grabbing at one of the girl’s necklaces. The other teen quickly gets up and runs away.
The suspect and teen tussle and struggle over the necklace. Eventually, the attacker appeared to have taken the jewelry, however, he abruptly turned back, shoved the girl again and picked something else up off the ground before running back to the black sedan from which he exited.
The suspects fled the scene before officers arrived. Neighbors in the area were shocked to hear of the daylight robbery.
“These poor little girls just sitting there waiting to go home, feeling safe, and then that happens to them,” said neighbor Anne-Marie Johnson in disbelief. “You can see the terror on their faces.”
“The kids were just sitting there, just waiting for the bus,” said Mary Hufeld, a nearby resident. “It’s very scary. You don’t know what can happen.”
The teen victim was not injured after the robbery, police said. No identifying information on the suspects was released as the investigation continues.
Anyone with information on the case can call Long Beach police at 562-435-6711.
Sofia Pop Perez contributed to this report.