In the early morning hours of June 24, James Lambert Jr. was walking along Cecil B. Moore Avenue in Philadelphia. The 73-year-old man had walked along that street for decades without incident. But this time, a group of teenagers and preteens emerged from the shadows and began accosting him. Lambert tried getting away by crossing the street. But seven of them chased after him; one of them picking up a traffic cone. As Lambert made it to the sidewalk, he was struck in the back of the head with the traffic cone and fell motionless onto the pavement. A young girl picked up the cone and hit Lambert in the head again. Lambert was able to get up and tried again to escape. Security footage shows that same girl picking up the traffic cone again and chasing after him. Lambert would later die from his injuries of blunt force trauma to his head. Many of the teens were seen recording the murder on their phones.
Read more at “The Rise of Youth Violence”