Principal Confirms Manhattan Beach Middle School Students Involved In Hermosa Assault

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — Students from Manhattan Beach Middle School were involved in the recent assault of a man in Hermosa Beach, the school’s principal says.

The letter was sent as an email to parents on Sunday, Manhattan Beach News first reported.

“While I must protect student privacy and respect the ongoing police investigation, I can confirm that MBMS students were involved in this off-campus incident,” Principal Matthew D. Horvath said in his letter provided to Patch.

As the students are minors and police are actively investigating the incident, Horvath said he was unable to provide additional details about the students or the investigation.

Several teenagers assaulted a 56-year-old man at about 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, near 11th Court and Beach Drive, a short distance from The Strand, Hermosa Beach police said.

Multiple surveillance videos that captured the incident show a man being attacked by a group of people in an alley, FOX 11 News reported. The group then fled on e-bikes, the TV station reported.
Through an investigation, police said they identified five teenagers, between the ages of 13 and 15, involved in the incident and arrested the two “juveniles identified as primary aggressors in this case.”

“This event has understandably caused concern, anger, and sadness across our community, and I share those feelings,” Horvath said.

Horvath said he understands some “students may feel unsettled or confused by what they are seeing in the news or hearing from peers," adding that counselors are available.

Horvath emphasized to parents that “students are safe at school,” and “this behavior is unacceptable and will never be tolerated at MBMS.”

Horvath said the recent news is a reflection of what many have been seeing in the community: “groups of kids on e-bikes engaging in unsafe or aggressive behavior and putting themselves and others at serious risk.”

“While this incident occurred off campus and outside school hours, it does not lessen the obligation we have as educators, parents, and caregivers to have crucial conversations with our kids about what is right and what is wrong,” he said.

In response to the incident, Hovarth said he’s asking families to have conversations with their children about safety and following laws.

Parents should also talk to their children about how actions “have real-world consequences” and when it’s necessary to speak up when something feels amiss, he said.

“These conversations are essential for all kids, not only those directly involved,” Hovarth said.

Horvath said school officials are working with law enforcement. Updates will be shared as they become available “to the extent that we can under the law," he said.