Three young men mugged my brother at 4 p.m. one day last week in lower Charles Village in Baltimore City. He was injured, though luckily is alive.

He is a transplant from New York who thinks Baltimore is charming. He is also in treatment for gastric cancer so his thinking is not always clear — he walks, on those days when his energy allows, to fight the side effects of chemotherapy. Paramedics treated him and he came home with one swollen eye, bloodied clothing and one arm wrapped in bandages.

We went to the hospital later in the evening because he complained of unbearable shoulder pain. He was X-rayed and scanned. No fractures to the eye or the arm, though he may have torn joints and ligaments which may require surgery.

In describing the assault, my brother said his attackers kicked him in the head with a rage that is, to me, incomprehensible. “And I hadn’t done anything to them,” he said. He said he felt humiliated and had he not been weakened by chemo, he maybe could have defended himself. They pushed him to the ground three times and three times he got up. Had he not gotten up, I am sure he would be in a coma — or dead.

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When my Mom called me at the office that afternoon, images of Pedro Lugo came to mind. I was a young assistant to former Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke when Pedro Lugo was beaten senselessly with a baseball bat. In a follow up to the family years later, Pedro still suffered from the beating — severe depression, paralysis in one half of his body, some brain damage.

I also thought of Zachary Sowers who — years after the Lugo beating — lays in a coma after yet another senseless beating. And I wondered — whose fault is it? Is it Pedro’s, Zachary’s or my brother’s for daring to walk in a city that is, for me, no longer a safe place? And I asked myself, whose fault is it? Is it the fault of an over burdened criminal justice system? Is it society’s fault, for having, somehow, failed these kids?

My initial reaction was outrage. How could they do this to my brother? How could they do this to someone who tries to lead a productive life? How could they do this to someone who is recovering from gastric cancer, who is weakened by chemo and who did nothing to provoke such a violent attack?

I have the utmost respect for the men and women in blue. I have done ride alongs in Baltimore City and Baltimore County and do fully appreciate how difficult police jobs are. I know they cannot do it alone. I know it will take all of us — police, community, faith based organizations — to affect lasting change and thus put a stop to these brutal, unprovoked beatings.

I love this city. It’s home. And I am angry at what my brother is going through right now. And I am saddened at what I know is coming — the fear, the sense of helplessness, the anger, the trauma of a senseless beating.

But I am also concerned. And I am troubled that this first world country cannot provide alternatives for its youth, whether these youth are white, black or brown.

I hear it said that “it takes a village to raise a child,” and I wonder what this richest country in the world is doing for its children.

And perhaps most importantly, what will I do tomorrow with my anger, my sadness, my outrage? And what will my brother do? Will he venture out for a walk in a city that he has learned to call home?

Haydee M. Rodriguez is a Baltimore-based free lance writer. She was Hispanic Liaison to former Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke from 1991 to 1998. She may be reached at hrodr001@umaryland.edu.