VICKSBURG — Police are looking for a teenager who pulled a Vicksburg Post photographer from a car and punched him.
The assault happened Friday while a photographer and reporter were covering a disturbance involving some members of a crowd of 400 at a park, the newspaper reports.
The photographer was treated and released from River Region Medical Center.
A fight had been reported at the city’s new skate park, and two subsequent calls for fights were reported at a park pavilion rented for a private party.
The car carrying a reporter and a photographer was parked about two blocks south of a fleeing crowd of about 100 when the attack occurred.
“Some of them were doing what they were supposed to do, but there were a few bad apples,” Vicksburg police Chief Walter Armstrong said.
About six teens approached the vehicle and one grabbed and punched the photographer, and at least two others kicked and hit the car
The passenger side door of the car, which belonged to the reporter, was partially open when the attack occurred.
Police had not been notified by the City Clerk’s Office that the party was set to occur Friday, and it was unclear if private security was provided, Armstrong said.
“Obviously with a crowd like that with younger people and music, you need security,” the chief said.
Watch commander Sgt. Mike Bryant estimated the total crowd at the park was “up to 400 teens and young adults.”
Vicksburg Post general manager Jimmy Clark said the attack won’t deter the newspaper from covering events.
“Friday night’s attack on a newspaper photographer is an attack on the public and its right to know what’s happening in our community,” he said. “We hope that the authorities and the public will understand that.”
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