"Burn the Snitch"

According to CNN, 5 juveniles were caught laughing an talking about setting 15 year old Michael Brewer on fire at an apartment complex on Tuesday. Michael received second-degree burns on the majority of his body. 3 of the juveniles were caught on a couple of hours after the incident and the other 2 were caught the next morning.

Police Sgt. Steve Feeley said "A couple of them last night were laughing about it," he said.

Apparently Michael owed one of the suspects $40 for a video game and never paid back for it. In retaliation, the youth stole his Michael's father's bicycle. Brewer sent in a claim that the bike was stolen and the suspect was sent to a detention center shortly afterward. The suspect however was released last Monday morning.

Gathering up his friends, the suspect got a group of four together who cornered Michael while he was waiting for his friends at their apartment.

Witnesses heard the suspect yelled, "He's a snitch, he's a snitch" and "pour it on him."

They doused Michael with what the police believed rubbing alcohol and threw a lit match at him. One witness rushed by to spray Michael with a fire extinguisher and Brewer shortly afterward dived into the complex's swimming pool. Brewer is expected to be hospitalized for around 5 months.

This purely vengeful crime to get back at a "snitch" is not new to me. I myself have been caught in an act of retaliation for warning my friend that his money was being stolen. Although I wasn't set set on fire, I did receive a pretty nasty kick to the back of my leg from the offender who, unfortunately, was never penalized for stealing and assault. Not being able to walk normally for a couple of days, it did affect me in the way in which I doubt I could "snitch" on others again.