Woman who helped teen beaten after attempted carjacking says so-called 'street justice' "not right"

MILWAUKEE -- A photo of a young attempted carjacking suspect laying in the snow after he was apparently beaten following the alleged crime has gone viral -- and it was continuing to draw a response on Thursday, February 11th, from both citizens and city leaders. Some have said the teen deserved what happened to him, while others say in this case, the suspect became a victim.

We are hearing for the first time from a woman who said she came upon the teen after the beating.

"I see this kid running and he has no shoes on. Just some socks. No pants. No coat," Lorena Guzman said. "'Why don't you have any clothes on?' He just put his arm around me and said 'help me. Help me. They're trying to kill me. I just got beat up.'"

Guzman shared her account of the aftermath of the melee that happened on Monday, February 8th near 33rd and Scott.

Minutes later, a photo was taken, showing a teenage boy laying in the snow. The photo has gone viral.

Police say the teenage boy seen in the photo was involved in an attempted carjacking. He was subsequently beaten by the would-be victim and a witness.

"What you saw on social media is the next step. It's the escalation of this epidemic," Alderman Mark Borkowski said.

Guzman approached FOX6 News with her story about how she helped the teenager following the beating after hearing Alderman Bob Donovan and Alderman Borkowski discussing what they're calling an "auto theft epidemic" in Milwaukee, which they say is sparking street justice.

"It has gotten to that point," Donovan said.

Donovan says despite the city's "Auto Theft Task Force," Milwaukee Police Department auto theft statistics show a sharp escalation from December 1st, 2015 through January 31st, 2016.

"We saw 1,357 auto thefts. That's up 57% from the same period a year earlier," Donovan said.

As for the so-called vigilantes responsible for the beating of the teenage attempted carjacking suspect on February 8th, Donovan had this to say:

"I certainly wouldn't charge them," Donovan said.

Guzman disagrees.

"Being beat up by a lot of people, especially adults -- it's not right," Guzman said.

Officials with the Milwaukee Police Department have provided the following statistics on auto thefts in Milwaukee:

CLICK HERE for a chart provided by MPD showing auto thefts in Milwaukee from 1967 through 2015.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett issued this statement on juvenile car thefts in Milwaukee: