A disabled man was forced to fight off four teenagers who attacked him outside a Forest Park gas station and tried to steal his car last week.
Chris Mancle walked out of the Z Food Mart on Ash Street about 5 p.m. Jan. 30 before the teens knocked his belongings out of his hands and began punching him in the head, Channel 2 Action News reported.
The brutal attack was captured on the store’s surveillance camera.
“I didn't know I was going to come up here and have to fight for my doggone life with some teenagers,” said Mancle, who was born with arthrogryposis, a congenital condition that typically affects the joints in a person’s limbs.
Video obtained by the news station shows Mancle walking toward his car when two teens came up behind him and started punching him.
“One dude came from this way and somebody else came behind my back,” he said. “They started punching me in my head and everything.”
As Mancle protected himself from the blows, a girl and another teenage boy got in his car on the passenger side. Despite his disability, Mancle was able to fend off his attackers and prevent the teens from stealing his vehicle.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
The four suspects ran from the store after the owner called police, and one was spotted by officers and arrested, Channel 2 reported. The remaining three are at large.
Mancle wasn’t seriously injured in the scuffle, which he said could have ended much worse.
“I just thank God I’m still here,” he said.
Anyone with information about the attempted carjacking or the whereabouts of the three remaining suspects is asked to call Forest Park police.
In other news:
About the Author
