Jason Rios is fighting for his life at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center just days after turning 15 years old.
His older sister Nayeli Rios said she feels helpless as her brother remains in intensive care after a second emergency surgery.
“It’s devastating because there’s nothing I can do,” she said. “I’m just by his side, supporting him all the way and just hoping he wakes up.”
On Tuesday, Nayeli said her brother was violently attacked while eating a hamburger with a friend at the Habit at Freedom Plaza in Watts. They were there to celebrate Jason’s birthday.
“These individuals actually came up behind him, and they decided to hit him from behind, basically dropping him to the ground, kicking him and punching him again,” Nayeli said.
Los Angeles Police Department investigators said three juveniles attacked Jason. Paramedics rushed him to hospital, where doctors performed emergency brain surgery. Nayeli said her brother’s face is still swollen from the brutal attack.
“Currently the doctors and neurosurgeons have not told us whether he will be able to make a full recovery,” she said. “They can’t estimate when the swelling of his brain will go down; they also can’t estimate whether he will get better.”
His mother, Lola Mendoza, said she is living a nightmare after the callous and brutal attack. She remains at his bedside, despite the heartbreaking feeling of seeing her son lying helpless in bed.
On Wednesday, police announced that they had arrested one of the suspects for attempted murder. Investigators are still trying to track down the two others, while Jason’s family demands justice.
“Unfortunately this week it was my brother and possibly next week it could be someone else,” Nayeli said.
LAPD said Rios’ friend was hospitalized but later released. If you have any information that could help the case, call LA Crime Stoppers at 1(800) 222-8477 or visit their website.
