BALTIMORE - As Sarah Kreager, 26, tried to sit down on a Baltimore City bus Tuesday, police say, a middle-schooler told her she couldn’t. When she attempted to take another seat, a middle-schooler wouldn’t let her. Finally, according to police, Kreager just sat down.
She was “immediately attacked” by nine students — three females and six males — from Robert Poole Middle School. They punched and kicked her at 2:59 p.m. at the intersection of 33rd Street and Chestnut Avenue, according to Maryland Transit Administration police.
Kreager was dragged off the bus and her boyfriend, Troy Ennis, attempted to get her back on, police said.
She sustained “serious injuries” and had to be transported to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, according to a police report.
Kreager suffered two broken bones in her left eye socket, police said.
“She had eye muscles that were damaged,” a police report states. “She had deep lacerations on the top of her head and another above her neck.”
Two seats and the bus’ rear glass were destroyed during the attack, police said.
The bus driver on the No. 27 line quickly called police, who responded and arrested the nine juveniles, said Jawauna Greene, an MTA police spokeswoman.
All nine suspects, ages 14 and 15, were arrested and charged with aggravated assault.
Their bus tickets — provided by the school — have been revoked, Greene said.
“Riding the bus is a privilege,” she said. “Public safety is our primary concern.”
Greene said the investigation into the incident was ongoing and she didn’t know whether the attack had anything to do with the victim’s race.
The suspects in the incident are black. The victim is white, according to the police report.
Baltimore resident David Briggs, who lives near the crime scene, said the incident underscores Baltimore’s pervasive crime.
“Now, I can't even ride the bus,” he said.