I Hit My Head and I Must Have Passed Out': 65-Year-Old Beaten by Teens in Parking Spot Attack

A 65-year-old man was babysitting his grandchildren Friday afternoon when, hearing yelling, he went outside to check on his daughter, the children's mother, who was parking outside of his Carlisle, Penn., home.

What happened next is something Charles Petty told The Patriot-News highlights a larger societal problem as it pertains to respect and parenting.

The 65-year-old was beaten, at times with a tree branch, all over a parking spot.

Charles Petty was beaten by two teens after they started to verbally harass his daughter who was picking up her children Friday afternoon. He required stitches for his wounds. (Image source: Christine Baker/The Patriot-News)

The Patriot-News reported that Petty heard hollering Friday around 2 p.m. when his daughter came to pick up the children.

Two teens were driving down the 200 block of West North Street blowing their horn.

"They kept saying to her, 'We own this street; we own this neighborhood,' that's what they said to her ... They were harassing her," Petty told the newspaper of the incident.

Petty's daughter called for help when the teens pulled along side her. When he tried to talk them away from his front porch, he recalled one of them saying he shouldn't get involved, "or else."

That's when Petty walked to the curb and was met with a tree branch-wielding 17-year-old.

The 200 block of West North Street where the incident occurred. (Image source: Christine Baker/The Patriot-News)

"The other kid came up behind me and knocked me down. I hit my head and I must have passed out, but they started kicking me," he told the Patriot-News.

Although the teens fled before police arrived, surveillance video on the street and witnesses identified them, leading to their arrest Saturday. The pair were charged with simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct, according to the Patriot-News.

But Petty isn't letting the issue just rest in court. He told the newspaper he's calling on the community to "band together" to create a culture that makes such behavior unacceptable.

"My message to the community is they need to band together, we need to stick together and stop closing our doors and not doing anything … that gives these kids the strength to keep doing what they're doing," he said.

Watch WHP-TV's report about the incident:

"My Christian upbringing would say, 'I forgive you,' but I can't forget," Petty said in the report.

Check out the Patriot-News' full article for more information.

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