Valerie Brewer, the mother of Michael Brewer, the boy set on fire by five classmates, was on the Today show this morning. Five classmates of Michael Brewer are 13-15 years old have been charged with the burning. Michael owed one of the boys $40 for a video game, and when he didn’t pay one of the boys tried to steal Michael’s father’s bike that was worth $500, then Michael called the police.
Sheriff Al Lambert said, "This group of kids thought that because the kid may have snitched him out, and turned him in because they were trying to steal his dad's bike, they felt in their mind, it was OK to set him on fire," the Today Show reported.
The boys covered Michael with rubbing alcohol and lit him on fire. Michael jumped into a pool, but the flames were not put out until a man with a fire extinguisher put them out. Police said that the boys were laughing when they told authorities about it.
Michael Brewer, 15 has burns on 65% of his body, and is recovering in a local hospital.
In a Today Show interview this morning, Valerie Brewer said what happened is "disgusting."
"Our country, our world, needs to wake up and see what is going on with our children," she said. "They need to do something. This has got to stop. It's not just my son. It's everybody's children. This could happen to somebody else and God forbid -- I don't wish this agony and torture on anybody. We have got to do something to make this violence stop today."
Source: Today Show
A Utah group Bullying is Bull goes around to junior and high schools around the state to speak to students about why bullying is bad. Another company called Report Bullying has speakers who come out to local schools to speak about the problem.
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Comments
Who wants to be 1$ the perps are black and that the media is trying to turn what is a racial attack into a "hush crime".
Obama's AMerica!!
There is no room in this world for these people, regardless of their ages. They should be charged with attempted murder! Disgusting!
Amen Lala!
This is a hate crime on whites. It will not be judged that way.
This is not bullying.
This is assault. This is a major CRIME. I cannot believe the characterizations of this incident.
When the media says it's a case of "bullying," it's 99% probable it's black on white crime. You know they would SCREAM if it was white on black crime.
I guess we're supposed to feel sorry for the poor victims (the four blacks and the Hispanic). They had a deprived childhood.
There was a similar case in DC. Two whites, unfamiliar with DC, were beaten by blacks. In retaliation, they seized a black woman and covered her with gasoline. However, at this point, they ran away.
They got 65 years.
Wonder what these racist scum will get? Probation?
RETRACTION - APOLOGY
I am told by the reporter that 3 of the attackers were white, 2 were black. Leaving aside the fact that the Hispanic guy has suddenly become "white," I apologize for misleading anyone.
I looked at the Miami Herald website, saw two black defendants and assumed that the other two were also black. I kind of doubt that "Jesus Mendez" is Irish-Italian.
If it wasn't Florida, the facts would be tightly concealed.
Racial Hate Crime is what this is! This was not just about revenge! If it was the other way around all of the civil rights leaders would be on their soap boxes! To hell with political correctness! I hope that these animals/kids? are tried as adults! Absolutely disgusting!
I'm normally against trying children's as adults for crimes. But most serious child crimes are motivated by rage or other emotions that their frontal lobes are just not equiped to handle, especially if their parents feed them meat and dairy products and let them watch television...or worse, their foster parents or abusive parents. But here, these children aren't motivated by any rage or feeling of being out of control over their lives. One of them, at least, whomever is the leader, is a sociopath. This calls for at the least life in prison. This is more Manson than child lashing out...This is outright evil. Those who went along with it should be locked up at least until they demonstate empathy and the ability to link cause and effect.
Lala, you really should consider actually reading the stories...If you had taken the time to actually READ the stories or look at the photos, you would see that you have jumped to an incorrect conclusion.
Two of the "perps" as you call them were WHITE...just as white as I am. They are brothers aged 13 and 15.
It is time that everyone stops being so hateful, whether it be racially motivated or not.
(And I must say you sound as if you have a bit of a problem in this area yourself. Do you think it helps the world to carelessly throw around racially motivated accusations the way you just did?)
Everyone needs to start looking at each other as human beings, instead of trying to separate everyone into groups and trying
to find reasons to keep hating each other. We are all here together in this world and you can learn to get along or continue to be a part of the problem other people are trying to solve. Please, please consider this. If you pray, say a prayer...say many prayers.
This is the most horrific crime i have ever seen and think they should be tried as adults and AT LEAST get life imprisonment, and liberty, i think at least two of them are sociopaths. Disgusting!
I have to admit this is a bad crime but this happens all tlme in America anymore. There are many kids who refuse to go to school because they are afraid to go. My daughters went to school in Ogden Utah. My youngest daughter had a boy who got caught with a switchblade on the school bus. This might be overlooked if the kid hadn't been in kindergarden. My oldest daughter got beat up by a gang of hispanic kids in 6th grade middle school. This might be ok if it hadn't happened in front of a middle school prinicipal and 3 teachers who seemed to be cheering them on. I had just pulled up to witness my daughter being attacked by these people. When I filed a report with the police officer he seemed to care less. Because we didnt' come from a wealthir neighborhood he thought it was ok. Also I attend church now witih a man who when he was 16 decided he was going to kidnap and torture other boys about his age. Problem most of the boys were Jewish. He'd confine them and break their legs. He killed one that was proven. I also live in an area where adults are part of gangs. The Milwaukee Iron are no better than the juvenile gangs who bully and beat people up or worse. When I was in Utah it was either the Ogden 13, the Hells Angels, or the Gypsy Jokers. If not these ones then the other thugs and criminals who conspire to commit attrocious crimes. And my local neighbors now wonder why I have a hard time wanting to get involved ini social gatherings. I got so fed up with it in Utah that I joined the governor's gang task force. There they showed me many films on the criminal activity in many gangs. This is not just an individual problem. This is something that is glorified by bikers and even media. Gang activity is a fashionable thing. It's ok to go around being a thug and beating people up..even setting them on fire. Why has America decided this is ok. Personally I see it as no different than the terrorist gangs in the middle east but America doesn't call it that.
That's crazy! Just 4 refenge u put a kid on fir and might die!! Children r nuts these days when it comes to this kind of situation.
The torture this poor boy is going through is horrific. Words cannot begin to express how sorry I am for his parents and family. The boys who did this should never be allowed out of prison. My heart breaks for this child and his family.
Why isn't the media making more of the savage attack made upon 15 year old Michael Brewer, the Deerfield Beach FL boy set on fire by five (5!) teenage thugs in retaliation for Brewer's having reported their criminal conduct to police? The consequences of our having become an immoral, vulgar and gratification-crazed society are sending some mighty ugly chickens home to roost.
Are we in the last days of Rome or is there hope? Edmund Burke observed in substance that all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men and women should do nothing. John Kennedy told us that, in this world, God’s work must truly be our own. If I know nothing else, I’m certain we’ll get the kind of society we deserve.
If we have come to a time when children, observing the behavior of adults and noting (as children surely do), that execrable conduct by adults, though heartily condemned, is seldom if ever really punished, then we should expect teen gangs to take up the practice of
I am absolutely appalled by the ignorance of so many people that we ALL live amongst! What ever happened to looking at a situation as right or wrong? Take all the other b.s. out of the equation and ask yourself was it right or wrong? Is that really so challenging for us to consider the basics? Who cares about the color of the skin, height, weight and in this horrific case...age? If we would all just stop and consider the fundamentals of daily living this world would quite possibly be a better place....consider this, if you simply see a person fall shouldn't you simply help them up? Or do you stop and think...oh I don't want to get involved he/she will be ok or someone else will help? And let us not forget that our justice system is truly just a CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM! What rights does someone "deserve" when they have broken the law of humanity? It's a scary place we live in if we, the abiding continue to retract from the evil!
This is another case of Blacks (and wanna be blacks) out of control. Exactly the reason that hatred for blacks is growing in America among anyone with sense.
@all who want to say that this is all about being or trying to be Black, your remark is just as ignorant and inane as anyone's to think that Black people are the root of violence. That's like saying that the lynchings, burnings, beatings, inhumane treatment, and draggings are the result of just White people. This is about home training of our nation's children. We are the ones who teach our next generation how to behave and treat one another. We've taken prayer out of the schools, the government has outlawed spanking, children are killing their parents, and many parents are trying to be their child's friend! I wonder what video game showed that alcohol will ignite like gas! Spare the rod = spoil the child. We have to get back to when parents were adults, took care of business, monitored their children, and the community supported one another. This is not a race issue, it is a human being issue!
Isn't it time to treat these bullies the same way convicted killers are treated?
all you people are racist why would you think every assult involves a black person just look at how many whites are in prison for murder
This crime is so upsetting to me. I am happy that they are being tried as adults. I belive that to many kids commit crimes like this, thinking that as minors they will not do any prison time. This is not a racist crime so everyone get your facts straight! FYI I am a white woman in her 40's and get I tired of all sides always pulling the racism card.
I had an Indiana State Police officer show me the statistics on violent offenses in Indiana. This was a few years back but the study showed 80% of all violent crimes were committed by those under the age of 18. I had a neighbor kid that assulted me with a knife and was vandalizing my property. I couldnt' be outside without being bullied by him and his friends. He's in jail now for attempted murder on his girlfriend and his sister is in jail for letting her 2 year old daughter eat methamphetamine.
these kids should be lynched in front of all america to see. no one deserves to have a "fair" trial in this situation. this boy's life is ruined because of these disgusting worthless, poor excuses for human beings. Their parents should be prosecuted as well. No kid who is brought up right could ever do such a thing to another person. yes,There is white crime as well...guess it was our fault we brought these people into our country many years ago. kick them all out and close the damn borders. Ruin your own country and get the hell out of ours
Eye for an eye is the only way to go. Each one of them should die the same way he did....douse 'em good and drop a match on 'em. I'll volunteer to drop the match.....then we'll all just walk away and let them feel what he felt.
This is clearly not a race issue, it is a values issue. Children these days have lost the sense of right and wrong that was just assumed when I was a kid. But of course, back then we prayed in school every morning (yes, public school) and the parents monitored and disciplined their own children. What has happened to us as a nation and a people?
You know what makes this worse is Michael Brewer appears to be a nice clean cut kid. He shouldn't have had to endure this kind of torture and that is exactly what this is. Those other boys should be locked up for life. No parole. Laws need to be changed in the instance of violent crimes and gang type crimes. America is in a war in the MIddle East to rid the world of terrorism and in America itself our kids and communities are enduring terrorism by gangs of bikers, corporate thugs, and youth gangs. We need to start standing up for moral values and rid our own country of terrorism as well.
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