A 74-year-old retired U.S. Postal Service worker described a violent encounter with a group of teens who attacked him outside a Baltimore 7-Eleven on July 7 — an incident captured on surveillance video and later reported to police as an attempted armed robbery.
The victim, Ade Tokumbo, recounted the assault in an interview with local television reporters. Police footage obtained by authorities shows six younger males wielding a rifle and a sword engaging in the attack at around 3:46 a.m. in the 2500 block of Liberty Heights Avenue.
Tokumbo stated that the group demanded his money and car, but he refused and fought back to defend himself. “I didn’t say a thing to them, and they started attacking me,” Tokumbo told reporters. “When they did that to me, I don’t think of them as kids or children. I think of them for what they are: goddamn demonic hood rats.”
The video footage reveals the group surrounding Tokumbo, shoving him, throwing objects at him, and stomping on him after knocking him to the ground multiple times. One attacker appears to bash the victim over the head with a rifle, while another brandishes a sword.
Tokumbo suffered serious injuries, including fractured ribs. Despite police describing the incident as an “attempted armed robbery,” no arrests have been made three months later.
In his interview, Tokumbo expressed frustration at how the suspects were being characterized: “See, you keep on saying ‘juveniles’ and ‘young people.’ I told you, all right, I don’t think of them that way because they don’t act that way. All they’re doing is hurting people or killing people.”
The Baltimore Police Department has not released additional details about the ongoing investigation.
