A walk in the park turned into a traumatizing ordeal in the Suffolk market town of Bury St. Edmunds, England. A disabled woman was pelted with eggs and flour by a gang of cruel teenage boys and left cowering on a park bench in fear.
But that wasn’t all.
The boys then posed for a celebratory photo, which sparked fury and outrage after it was posted on Snapchat by one of the gang. The local community was perhaps hit the hardest, claiming that the gang was notorious and had been terrorizing residents for weeks.
The poor victim, 49-year-old Janice Morris, was suffering from severe mental health problems. The boys got into an altercation with Morris, who was walking alone in the park. They goaded her spitefully before spitting on her, then went to buy eggs and flour before returning to pelt the helpless woman and snap a “trophy” photo of her vulnerable state.
A local resident despaired. “The truth is that there is nothing for these kids to do,” they said, “so they cause trouble.”
Another local woman chimed in, furious with what had happened so close to home. “All I know is that they are local,” she said. “I was absolutely disgusted to hear about what they did to that poor lady.”
“How would they feel if it was their mother, grandmother, or sister?” she asked, outraged. “It is disgraceful, it really is.”
“However,” Morris added, with immense compassion, “I have no wish to escalate current tensions.”
Morris’s friend Katherine Brame checked on the victim and confirmed that she was “safe.” Locals had offered to help and send gifts, she said, but what Morris needed most was to be left alone.
In a post that has since been removed, Brame explained on Facebook. “Today’s incident has made me so sad and devastated,” she said. “It’s complicated, but if you want to help, how about donating to a mental health charity,” Brame suggested. “People with these unseen illnesses go under the radar all the time, and they are totally under-funded.”
Four teens under the age of 18 were arrested by Suffolk police. Five names were leaked online despite the authorities’ best efforts to keep arrest details under wraps, and furious commentary spread like wildfire.
“He’s never been in any major bother before,” she shared, “but this is serious.”
As anger toward the spiteful gang spiraled, police confirmed that they were safeguarding the teens by offering them police protection. This revelation only sparked further anger. “Why should the boys be protected when they caused such immense distress to an innocent woman walking in the park?” people thought.
Luckily, this cruel gang of five represents the exception and not the rule. Our most vulnerable neighbors deserve our compassion, and never, under any circumstances, our spite.
