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4 teens accused of luring classmate to apartment complex, beating him up & hitting him with a car

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Police said a group of high school students chased down a Central Florida teenager, beat him, then hit him with a car at a Fruitland Park apartment complex.

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Investigators said it all started with a fight that the victim wasn’t involved in.

Police have arrested four teens who said they took issue with the victim’s online comments about a school fight.

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Police said a girl asked the victim to escort her back to her complex. That’s when the four boys jumped out from behind a mailbox center and attacked. Another girl recorded it on a phone.

The four teens, including 19-year-old Kamari Ruiz, are facing aggravated battery and simple battery charges after the attack on one of their classmates from Leesburg High School

An off-duty police officer witnessed the teens punching and kicking the victim while he was on the ground.

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Police have a copy of the video the girl shot, some of which was posted to Snapchat. They are still investigating and are looking to see if either of the two girls should be charged.

The teen attacked only sustained minor injuries, police said.

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Jeff Deal

Jeff Deal, WFTV.com

I joined the Eyewitness News team as a reporter in 2006.

Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.

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