MIAMI – No arrests have been made in the beating of a 17-year-old boy who said he was attacked by more than a dozen people after a basketball game at Coral Reef High School.
Christopher Lardner, 17, had just left a basketball game at the school Wednesday night against its rival, Miami Killian Senior High School, when he was jumped in the parking lot as he got to his car.
"There was somewhere between 15-25 people that circled around him," said family attorney Ricardo Corona. "He was sucker-punched and he was attacked and physically beaten to a pulp, to what we see now, and he was left hanging on for his life."
Lardner was bloodied beyond recognition.
"Severe beating to the head -- he was bleeding. His eyes were swollen shut. His nose was broken to the point where he has trouble breathing. His jaw was broken in at least two places," Corona said. "His mouth was wired shut. It will be so for at least two or three months."
"He was unrecognizable," said the teen's father, Edward Lardner. "I'm holding back my tears right now. I made a promise. As you can see in the pictures, it would be tough for any parent."
Chris Lardner was in intensive care until Sunday. He is now home, but he has a long recovery ahead.
"His mouth was wired shut. It will be so for at least two or three months," Corona said.
The focus now is on finding the people who attacked the teen.
"A person that would do that doesn't seem to have a value for life," Edward Lardner said.
Thanks to a surveillance camera in the parking lot, Miami-Dade police said they have identified at least one person believed to be involved, but so far, no arrests have been made.