Thank the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
In the early evening on the first day of summer, a large group ofSomali boys approached a woman on the corner of Ash and Pierce streets.According to police reports, they intimidated the woman and slapped herin the back of the head before scattering into the downtown.
Five days later, shortly after midnight, a man was accosted by agroup of Somali boys outside the Big Apple on Main Street. Policereports say several members of the group punched the man and took moneyfrom him. They then fled in a car.
Later that night, a woman in her late 60s was beaten by a group ofSomali boys and relieved of cash while walking in Kennedy Park.
Five nights later, another man was jumped by a group of similardescription. He resisted the gang and was beaten badly. He requiredsurgery.
Throughout the summer, similar reports have come into the PoliceDepartment. Witnesses and investigators say swarms of Somali boys, someas young as 8, others in their late teens, overwhelm solitary victimsthrough sheer numbers.
“It’s not gang activity in the traditional sense,” Deputy ChiefJames Minkowsky said. “We’re not seeing the colors or the monikers, butit’s still a gang mentality.”
Often, these gang members carry sticks and rocks with which tointimidate their victims. There are often four or five of them,sometimes as many as a dozen. Typically, they threaten or beat theirvictims until they give up the goods: money, bicycles, cell phones,prescription drugs, or other items of value.
Then they scatter.
“By the time the call gets to us, the group has dispersed,” Minkowsky said.
The attacks continued all summer; more than a dozen were reported topolice. There were more in the fall and a series of them in recentweeks. In each attack, the victim is one who may have appeared weak tothe group that descended on them.
“They single out a person who is walking alone. The victim is oftenintoxicated,” Minkowsky said. “Or he might be small. They look forsomeone who is not likely to fight back or present much of a challenge.”
On the first day of December, a man walking through Kennedy Parkafter leaving a Park Street club said he was attacked by four Somalimales. The group came at him from behind, knocked him down and stoleprescription drugs and $150 in cash. That man told police it was thesecond time he was attacked in such a fashion. The first time, he wasable to escape.
On the last day of November, there were three such attacks reportedin Lewiston: one in the area of Central Maine Medical Center, anotheron Bartlett Street, the third in Kennedy Park.
In another attack, a woman walking a dog in the park was set upon.The assailants, a group of Somali males, beat her dog with a stick.Police later tracked down one of the attackers. He was a 10-year-oldboy.
In late summer, an off-duty civilian police employee was eating at alocal restaurant. A local boy ran to the window, screaming for help.The police employee ran outside and found a group — roughly ahalf-dozen — of Somali boys. When confronted, they ran off.
Police say they are investigating the attacks on several fronts.They are using new technology and new techniques. A bigger break camein recent weeks when they were approached by a group that wants to help.
“Members of the Somali community came to us,” Minkowsky says. “Theyset up a meeting with us and came in to talk about it. They want tohelp us combat it.”
Police Chief Michael Bussiere pointed out that the attackers do notappear to involve large segments of the Somali population. It seems tobe a select group that has organized to carry out the attacks.
Police say group robberies are almost unheard of in Lewiston. In thepast, when multiple people have attacked a lone victim, two or threeassailants were reported and the assault was typically prompted byintoxication or old rivalries.
Not so with the Somali attacks.
“We haven’t seen that it’s been fueled by alcohol or drugs,”Minkowsky said. He added that robbery appears to be a primarymotivation among the Somali gangs. “But in some cases, they seem to doit for the thrill of it.”
Stephen Wessler, director of the Center for the Prevention of HateViolence, said he was not aware of the Somali assaults in Lewiston.After hearing the nature of them, he said the attacks likely were notthe type that involve his group. The motive appears to be robbery,rather than race.
While investigating the ambush-style attacks, police have little tocompare them with, at least locally. A search of assaults dating backto spring revealed no incidents of a similar nature involvingnon-Somalis.
“This is unique,” Minkowsky said.
There have been a few arrests since the attacks began. Minkowskysaid many of the suspects had dropped out of school. Their parentsseemed to have no idea that their children had become part of a rovinggang.
Seeing children as young as 8 running the streets with teens closingin on 20 is something police are not used to seeing. There is a lotabout the attacks investigators have not seen before.
That’s why it helps them enormously to have input from the Somali elders.
“It’s an interesting dynamic for us,” Minkowsky said. “We’re stillon the learning curve with this. Getting help from the Somali communityis probably our best chance to resolve it.”