The 16-year-old teen Filipp S., who made national news after he was beaten into a coma by a gang of youths at a skate park in Meinerhagen, has lost his life after his life support was switched off by medical staff.
It is unclear what precipitated the fatal fight on Jan. 30 at the skate park, but Filipp S. was allegedly stepping in to break up a scuffle when he was hit with multiple punches, and once on the ground, additional kicks to the head.
Filipp’s brother Wilhelm S. told Bild newspaper: “A witness later told me that a group of 15 people of Arab origin got into an argument with three of my brother’s Russian and Ukrainian friends. These cliques are often said to have conflict among each other.”
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“Filipp intervened to break up the fight. The Arab youths first hit him in the face. When he was on the ground, they allegedly continued to beat him. I fear that the thugs will go unpunished because they are all supposed to be minors,” the brother added.
The victim was removed from life support after nine days, as doctors said that he had entered a vegetative state. According to the autopsy results, the teen, whose family was from Kazakhstan, suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage, which was the cause of death. Senior public prosecutor Dr. Gerhard Pauli said that “it was a type of aneurysm that burst due to a blow or fall.”
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Bild reports that some perpetrators have been identified and that they are all continuing to attend school. If Filipp’s attackers were indeed minors, their identities will never being revealed, and it is unlikely any of them will serve any prison time.
Diagnosed as brain-dead
After the mob beat their victim, they reportedly fled the scene. Filipp was transported to the emergency room, where a doctor resuscitated him, but the damage was already done, and the boy was declared brain-dead. However, at the time, Wilhelm warned what could come to pass, saying: “Now another test is being carried out. If it shows that my brother’s brain is no longer working, the doctors will want to turn off the machines.”
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Part of the tragedy is that Filipp S. died doing what he loved most, with his brother saying: “He was there all the time because he loved riding around on his skateboard. He also let my 10-year-old son ride it.”
Filipp S. was the youngest of 11 children, and his passing was not the only tragedy, as four years ago, the parents lost their son Peter S. in a motorcycle accident.
Wilhelm S. said that Peter “is buried in Kazakhstan, and three of our siblings still live there today.”
While speaking to Bild, bullying expert Carsten Stahl said: “What I had feared for years happened to Filipp. Young people are becoming more and more aggressive and there will be more incidents like this.”
