Scarsdale Boy Savagely Attacked Near B.U.

Charlie Katz, the BU student who was assaulted last weekend in Allston, Mass has sent the following clarification to the story that appears below: (From Charlie) In response to questions from readers, the incident was entirely unprovoked. There were 20-25 kids loitering in the street, and six attacked me. After the attack, I regained consciousness and walked back to my apartment in Brookline to clean up the cuts. When I got home I realized that the cuts were severe and that I needed stitches. I woke up my roommate and asked him to take me to the hospital where they performed cat-scans and then transferred me to Beth Israel.

I also want to stress that many students from Scarsdale who attend BU live in Allston and parents should be aware of the danger, and seek alternatives such as on campus housing or off campus housing in Brookline. BU is a great school and if I had it to do again, I wouldn’t go anywhere else.

Charlie Katz, a 2006 graduate of Scarsdale High School and a senior at Boston University was viciously beaten early Saturday morning April 3rd around 1:30 am after he left a party a few blocks from his apartment near the University. Katz and his roommate attended an 80’s theme party in Allston, at the home of some friends. While walking home on Gardner Road in Allston, the two boys were approached by a few black youths who started to taunt them. Charlie urged his roommate to run, when 20 to 25 kids emerged out of the shadows and surrounded them. Katz was jumped, thrown into the road and kicked in the head repeatedly by the gang who were all wearing boots. The assailants left Katz curled into a fetal position and unconscious in the street.

When he came to, his immediate impulse was to flee and he somehow managed to get back to his apartment. His roommate considered calling an ambulance but decided it would be faster to put him into the car. He took him to the emergency room at Mt. Auburn hospital where doctors saw bleeding in the brain and transferred him to the Beth Israel Hospital neurology unit for an M.R.I. He was kept in traction for two days, as doctors feared he also had suffered injuries to his spinal cord. His jaw was broken and his neck, ear and arm were injured. His roommate had been kicked in the mouth and lost his teeth. He was traumatized by the attack as well.

According to Katz’s mother Lisa, the attackers did not even take her son’s wallet or phone. They simply beat him.

No police report was filed by either hospital at the time and officials at Boston University were unaware of the incident. Lisa went to Boston to take care of her son and to investigate what had happened. When Charlie was released from the hospital on Sunday, even though he was weak she insisted that he accompany her to the Allston Police. With her bruised son by her side, she sought to explain that he had been attacked and found the police to be hostile and dismissive. From her observations Mrs. Katz feels that there were racial overtones to the assault and the police response. The police implied that Charlie had provoked the attack and told Mrs. Katz “there must be something more to this story. These kids get drunk and belligerent.” The official report, drafted by the Allston Police on Sunday, made it sound as if Charlie and his roommate had started the fight. When the mother of the roommate went to Allston police, she got a similar reception.

Officials at Boston University were reserved in their response. Mrs. Katz was sent from one official to the next, and little was done to get answers. To her, it appeared that this was not the first time a B.U. student had been attacked, but it seemed as if the school was keeping it quiet. No one called Mrs. Katz or Charlie to express concern or inquire about Charlie’s well being. She recommended that the school warn the student body that gangs were in the area, preying on college students.

The Katz family has asked Scarsdale10583.com to post the story in an effort to warn other students and to encourage Boston University to take measures to protect the student body. In the meantime, Charlie is in bad shape and it will take months for him to recover.