STAFFORD, Va. — Police have arrested three teens after they allegedly beat a boy unconscious before stealing his shoes.
According to the Stafford County Sheriff's Office, deputies were called to Providence Street just after 3 p.m. Monday.
When deputies arrived, they learned three boys wearing hoodies, Adidas pants and ski masks chased a person through an apartment complex. Witnesses said when the boys caught up to the victim, they beat him until he was unconscious and stole his shoes.
At one point, witnesses said the victim was on the ground when one of the suspects kicked him in the face. The victim, only identified as a juvenile, was taken to an area hospital with serious injuries and has since been released.
After the attack, the three suspects ran away.
Deputies helped the victim while working to search for the suspects using drones and K-9 assistance.
A deputy observed a group of masked people who matched the suspects' descriptions. When the suspects noticed the deputy, they reportedly ran back into the woods.
The stolen shoes were found by a sheriff's office K-9 in a creek bed while tracking the suspects.
Within minutes, two of the suspects were spotted again and taken into custody. The third suspect was found coming out of the woods near Bridgeport Circle where awaiting deputies took him into custody.
While escorting the boys from the woods, an Uber driver pulled up having allegedly been ordered by the suspects in an attempt to get away.
"The Uber driver was informed the Sheriff’s Office would be handling the transportation needs of the suspects," the sheriff's office said in the release.
Lisette Valentine lives in the apartment complex where the beating happened and told WUSA9 the victim is a 15 year-old boy. She believes the attack and stolen shoes were all about social media status.
"Is it's like cool points," Valentine said. "They do stuff like that to get cool points and posts on social media...then they take their shoes just to say they did it," she said. "That's ridiculous. It's really crazy," she said.
The suspects have been identified as two 15-year-olds and a 14-year-old. Each teen was charged with robbery, assault by mob, aggravated malicious wounding, and conspiracy. All three were held at the Juvenile Detention Center.
Anyone with more information is asked to contact Detective D.V. Torrice, Jr. at 540-658-4400.