Autistic Boy Brutally Attacked by Fake Friends for ‘Content’

A 15-year-old boy with autism and epilepsy was excited to make new friends when two girls contacted him on Snapchat and invited him to meet up. Instead, he walked into a terrifying ambush that left him injured, traumatized and afraid to leave his home.

The shocking attack happened October 5 in Stawell, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria, approximately 145 miles northwest of Melbourne.

According to the boy’s devastated mother, her son had been thrilled when two girls reached out online and expressed interest in becoming friends.

They arranged to meet near a train station around 5:45 p.m., and the teenager, who lived in nearby Ararat, believed he was going to enjoy an afternoon with new companions.

But when he arrived, three teenage boys allegedly confronted him instead.

Disturbing footage of the encounter shows the group surrounding the boy, taunting him and repeatedly assaulting him as he tries to escape.

At one point, the victim is knocked to the ground as the teenagers continue attacking him. Several girls can be seen watching nearby, with one heard pleading for the boys to stop striking his head.

The assault then takes another frightening turn when one of the teenagers demands the boy remove his sneakers.

“Take your shoes off right now,” the person filming orders.

Confused and frightened, the victim attempts to respond before eventually surrendering his shoes.

In one especially heartbreaking moment, the boy can be heard asking his attackers why they are targeting him.

“Who are you? I don’t know you,” he says.

The ordeal lasted just over a minute, but the emotional consequences have been far more lasting.

While the attack unfolded, his mother believed her son was safely spending time with friends.

She only discovered what had happened when he called her using a paramedic’s phone.

Speaking to Australian outlet news.com.au, the mother explained that she had been hesitant to let him go out but wanted him to have the opportunity to develop friendships and become more independent.

“I wrap my kids up in cotton wool, I don’t really like them going anywhere,” she said.

“But I thought because he was going to catch up with friends and make friends, he’d be okay.”

Instead, her son ended up in the hospital with soft tissue injuries and concerns about possible head trauma.

His mother said doctors were considering additional brain imaging because of the possibility of bleeding, although that complication had not been confirmed.

“I’m just lucky to have him alive,” she said, adding that the teenager had been experiencing nightmares since the attack.

Even after returning home, the boy has struggled to regain his sense of security.

According to his mother, he is now frightened to leave the house, a heartbreaking change for a teenager who had simply hoped to make new friends.

The family is also desperate to understand why anyone would deliberately target a child they describe as loving and caring.

“It makes me feel sick, it makes me feel unsafe,” his mother said. “No kid should go through what my son went through.”

Her biggest question remains painfully simple.

“I just want to know why they did it.”

The video quickly attracted attention across Australia, prompting anger from viewers and renewed concern about violence involving teenagers.

On Tuesday, October 13, Victoria Police announced that three boys had been arrested and charged in connection with the assault.

Detectives from the Northern Grampians Crime Investigation Unit executed four search warrants in the area before arresting a 14-year-old boy and two 15-year-old boys.

All three were charged with affray, robbery, recklessly causing injury and theft.

Under Australian law, affray generally involves unlawful violence that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety.

The teenagers are expected to appear before a children’s court at a later date. Their identities have not been released because they are minors.

Police also confirmed that investigators intended to interview a fourth boy who was not present when officers executed a search warrant at his address.

Additional arrests remain possible as detectives work to establish the full circumstances surrounding the attack.

According to Victoria Police, the incident occurred near the intersection of Wakeham and Doyle streets, where a group allegedly assaulted the teenager and stole his shoes and clothing before fleeing on foot.

Superintendent Dan Davison acknowledged the fear and anger the attack had caused throughout the small community.

“There is never any excuse for violence in our community, and we will not accept it in any form,” he said.

Davison emphasized that investigators had been working since the day of the assault to identify those responsible and bring them before the courts.

Authorities are treating the attack as an isolated incident, but additional police patrols will be deployed throughout Stawell to reassure residents and deter further violence.

Investigators have not publicly established whether the Snapchat messages were deliberately used to arrange the assault or what motivated the group to target the boy.

Those questions remain central to the ongoing investigation.

For the victim’s mother, however, the greatest concern is helping her son recover physically and emotionally after an experience that shattered his confidence in other people.

What should have been an innocent opportunity to make friends instead became a terrifying ordeal that his family fears will affect him long after his visible injuries have healed.

Police are asking anyone with information or additional footage to contact Crime Stoppers Victoria at 1800 333 000.

The investigation remains ongoing.