In a stark example of the controversial content found on TikTok, a disturbing incident has led critics to question the app’s impact on youth culture.
Authorities detained two 13-year-old boys on Friday, accused of launching a violent attack on a California father. The incident unfolded when the boys allegedly disrupted the man’s peaceful jacuzzi session, with one reportedly kicking him in the back of the head and the other swiping his iPhone.
The arrests followed the boys being turned in by their own parents.
Greg Medina, the victim of the assault in San Bernardino on August 14, was first contacted by the father of one of the suspects. The father reached out through Facebook to inform Medina of his son’s participation in the alarming event.
Subsequently, the concerned father took decisive action by escorting his son to the authorities and handing him over to the police.
Medina later met both teens, their fathers and other family members at the jail.
The boys apologized, and Medina shook hands with them.
“They were very respectful, the fathers were very respectful as well,” Medina told The California Post.
Medina said he later learned the teens had been trying to film something for TikTok when they attacked him.
According to Medina, they took his phone so he would not be able to call the police.
“I was glad to get an answer, but disappointed TikTok was the reason.”
The attack was captured on surveillance video.
Medina was sitting in the jacuzzi when one of the teens approached from behind and delivered a hard kick to the back of his head.
The second boy then reached down and grabbed Medina’s phone from the concrete.
The teens never said anything to him, Medina said. They laughed.
“They thought it was funny to do this to me.”
The boys also laughed as they ran away.
Medina never got his phone back.
The teens ditched his new iPhone somewhere after taking it, he said.
The phone cost more than $1,000, and Medina had just finished paying it off.
His AirPods were also lost, while his glasses were broken during the attack.
The kick sent Medina to the emergency room with a concussion.
He was later diagnosed with “post-concussion syndrome” and continues to suffer from headaches and dizziness.
The 48-year-old has also had to miss work and lose money while recovering.
Medina works full time as a chef for Lutheran Social Services, preparing meals for roughly 70 to 75 homeless men in San Bernardino. His workday starts at 5 a.m. and typically ends around 1 or 2 p.m.
He is also a full-time father to his 12-year-old daughter, Emmy.
After a long day of work, the jacuzzi was supposed to be his chance to unwind.
Instead, Medina was left injured, robbed and facing a recovery that has kept him away from work.
He had to miss work Friday and said he would miss Saturday as well.
“You’re doing this and you’re not realizing that there’s a real person behind this.”
The teen accused of delivering the kick was booked into Juvenile Hall on robbery and battery charges.
The other teen was booked on robbery charges.
Neither suspect has been identified because they are minors.
For Medina, their arrests brought peace of mind.
“I don’t have to worry about them being out on the streets now, there is a sense of relief from that.”