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Teens beat 72-year-old man to death with a traffic cone, Pennsylvania police say

Pennsylvania police released security footage that showed teenagers repeatedly beating the 72-year-old man with a traffic cone and filming themselves.
Pennsylvania police released security footage that showed teenagers repeatedly beating the 72-year-old man with a traffic cone and filming themselves. Screengrab from Philadelphia Police Department's video

Video footage shows teens using a traffic cone to beat a 72-year-old man who later died from his injuries, according to Pennsylvania authorities.

The Philadelphia Police Department released security footage on Friday, July 8, of the homicide that took place at 2:38 a.m. on June 24. A group of seven teens “struck the victim several times with objects, knocking the victim to the ground” and “causing injuries to his head,” police said in an accompanying news release.

Police said the man was taken to a hospital where he died from his injuries.

They released the video in an effort to get more information on the teens who attacked the man.

In the video, the group of teens — 3 females and 4 males — were seen chasing the victim across the street and repeatedly hitting him with a traffic cone. The victim tried to flee, but the teens pursued him.

The footage showed what appeared to be a teenager filming the incident on a cell phone.

From another camera angle, footage shows the teens talking and hugging after the incident. One teen left on a scooter.

Police are offering a $20,000 reward for information “leading to an arrest and conviction,” the news release said.

Although police have not identified the victim, NBC10 reported speaking with the victim’s family who identified him as James “Simmie” Lambert.

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This story was originally published July 8, 2022 at 4:40 PM with the headline "Teens beat 72-year-old man to death with a traffic cone, Pennsylvania police say."

Aspen Pflughoeft
McClatchy DC
Aspen Pflughoeft covers real-time news for McClatchy. She is a graduate of Minerva University where she studied communications, history, and international politics. Previously, she reported for Deseret News.
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