CAPE CORAL, Fla. — An unimaginable situation after local parents send their son off to Gator Mike's.
“Five to six kids against one for fun because they want likes they want to look tough. What is the idea on this," Davi Santos, the victim's father, said.
A fun night turned into a nightmare. Santos said his son was hanging out with a couple of friends when he received a phone call. His son told him he got jumped.
“I said what? I got like upset at the time and didn’t talk to my wife. I put on my shoes and shirt and left," Santos said.
He raced there, where his son explained the whole thing.
“I came out the go-carts. We were all talking about who passed who," his son said.
That's when the incident happened.
“I feel someone grab me from behind and I get slammed on the ground. They all start piling on top of me. Kicking me and punching me in the back of the head and ribs," the victim said.
Some adults came over and broke up the fight.
“These adults jump over the fence of the go-cart. They jump over the fence and they start running to break everything up," he said.
Police arrived on the scene. Santos's son told them he didn't know why he was attacked. He only recognized one of the kids who attacked him and had a conversation minutes before.
“He was like, how was school? This that and how you are doing. He high-fived me and went back to his friend," the victim explained.
No one was arrested on the scene as officers tried to identify and locate the suspects. Santos provided police with the kid's social media.
“There is pictures there. It is still they cannot be able to identify because they could deny it. Of course, he could deny," Santos said.
As the one-month mark approaches, the Santos family wants justice.
“From the bottom of my heart. I hope they learn. They do this. They go to jail or wherever it is and learn and never do it again," Santos said.
Santos pressed charges, but the family is still waiting. They received a phone call from the Cape Coral Police Department on Wednesday. The officer told them he couldn't identify the kid.
We reached out to Gator Mike's to ask about the incident. They provided us with a statement:
First and foremost, we are saddened by the incident that occurred at our annual Haunted Hike and disheartened that an individual was harmed because of others careless actions. We do not condone such behavior at our establishment but will always do everything we can to modify and adjust our security precautions to be sure Gator Mike’s Family Fun Park continues to be a family friendly establishment and source of pride in the Cape Coral community. On November 17th, Fox4 News reported the incident which has since been removed from their website platform and social media channels. Gator Mike's Family Fun Park was contacted by a member of the Fox4 News team at approximately 2 pm (hours before the report was published online). The team member informed the news representative that the owners were out of the office at an industry conference. In no way did our team “decline to comment”. This is an evolving investigation and we are working to get all the questions answered as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we want to share what we can confirm right now: At approximately 9:30 p.m. on Friday, October 22nd, a minor was assaulted by another group of minors according to communication with the Cape Coral Police Department. We do not know the number of persons involved in this incident. We have security and safety plans in place for just such an incident. During this specific incident there were Cape Coral Police Detail Officers and additional Private Security Guards on location. Gator Mike’s is fully cooperating with the Cape Coral Police Department as part of our safety and security plan and providing all of the necessary information to support the investigation. We are working to determine what actions may be needed by individuals and the community to prevent this type of incident from happening again. We will continue to gather information and release it to you as soon as possible. As soon as we have more confirmed information, it will be provided. We ask for your patience and understanding as we work with our local authorities to resolve this incident for the minor involved.
