Three young girls, two aged 13 and one 12, have been apprehended in Washington DC following their alleged involvement in a brutal assault that led to the death of a disabled man in 2023. The girls were reportedly captured on video during the attack, which occurred in the early hours of October 17, resulting in the death of 64-year-old Reggie Brown.
The disturbing footage allegedly shows a group of five girls pursuing Brown, who was disabled and suffered from mental health issues, down an alley. The girls are accused of violently removing him from a chain link fence he was attempting to climb in a desperate bid to escape. Brown, who had a metal plate in his head and only two fingers on each hand, was then reportedly beaten to death.
According to court testimonies, the girls stomped on Brown’s head, pulled his pants down, and used his own belt to beat him. The assault was so severe that Brown was found dead on the street before 1 a.m., his injuries consistent with a violent assault. An autopsy later confirmed the cause of death as blunt force trauma.
The girls’ alleged actions were not only violent but also cruel, with reports suggesting they laughed as Brown began to bleed from his head. One of the girls was even heard shouting, “He’s leaking!”
The investigation revealed that the attack was initiated by a man in his early 20s, who grabbed Brown by the collar and threw him against a brick wall. The girls, who were passing by, joined in the assault after one asked the man if she could fight Brown and received an affirmative response.
The 12-year-old girl is accused of pulling Brown off the fence and using his belt against him, all while recording the horrifying incident on her cellphone. Investigators have stressed that the girls did not know Brown, but they are still investigating whether the man who initiated the assault did.
One of the girls claimed that two of the assailants were reluctant to participate in the attack but were coerced by the man, who allegedly threatened them with a gun. The girls remained at large until one of the 13-year-olds was apprehended by court order on Thursday.
Later that night, the 12-year-old girl was shot in her apartment, located approximately half a mile from where Brown was found. She was rushed to the hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to her leg. The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain unclear, with police yet to confirm whether the shot was fired from inside or outside the apartment.
The 12-year-old and the third girl were arrested later that day. None of the girls had previous arrest records, but all three had a history of truancy. One of the teenagers had not attended a single day of school in 2024, according to the judge. The girls are facing second-degree murder charges and will be tried as juveniles.