Father seeks public’s help after 14-year-old beaten in Park Ridge

Father calls for justice after teen son seriously hurt in Park Ridge assault

A Park Ridge teenager was viciously beaten earlier this week while walking through an upscale neighborhood. And tonight his dad is appealing for the public's help to find out exactly what happened to his son.

PARK RIDGE, Ill. - A Park Ridge teenager was viciously beaten earlier this week while walking through an upscale neighborhood. And now his dad is appealing for the public's help to help find out exactly what happened to his son.

Sean Connolly says what happened to his son is a parent's worst nightmare.

Last Monday evening, sometime between five and 8:30 p.m., Connolly's 14-year-old son was walking with another 14-year-old boy in the vicinity of Eugene Field Elementary School and Northeast Park in the country club area of Park Ridge when he was brutally beaten.

"My son was assaulted. He was struck in the head with something. He was knocked unconscious. He's got a very severe injury," Connolly said.

Connolly says his son was able to make some calls from his cellphone but was confused.

The family geolocated his phone to track him down, and he underwent brain surgery at Lutheran General Hospital, where he remains in the ICU.

"He was struck in the head with something. The doctor said it looked like he was hit in the head with a hammer," he said.

For the past few days, Connolly and volunteers have been distributing flyers to residents of the area where the beating happened, asking them to check their surveillance cameras or ring doorbells to see whether they captured what happened Monday night.

"When you're looking at your camera, you see two boys who are 14 years old," Connolly said. "My son was wearing a black Under Armour T-shirt with long black athletic pants. He had grey Nikes on and he's wearing eyeglasses. We're looking for before and after the incident to track where his movements were."

Park Ridge police are also asking for the public's help on their Facebook page as part of what they call an "ongoing battery investigation."

"It's been terrible to see my son in a hospital bed, going into brain surgery and then coming out, to see what he looks like. It's very difficult," he said. "I really feel terrible for what he's going through. Just wish I could take it away from him."

Many doorbell cams and surveillance systems only hold recorded material for a week, which means video that could help police could be purged tomorrow.