Karen Teens Assaulted by Bullies on Viral Snapchat Video in Iowa

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to clarify the age range of the teens involved.

A Snapchat user posted a video on Facebook showing three boys of Karen descent, who are believed to be middle schoolers, repeatedly being punched by another group of teens in Des Moines, Iowa.

The user can be heard asking one of the boys, “What you playing bro?” as he backs away from the camera.

The camera pans over to the other two boys as the teen behind the camera hits one of them in the face.

One of the boys can be heard saying “nothing,” as none of them appear to fight back.

It is unclear what started the situation. But a follow-up video shows one of the culprits, who are believed to be between 17-19, fleeing from one of the boys’ older cousin after one of the attackers’ dad allegedly called the police on the Karen boys.

The Facebook user, who shared the follow-up video and knows one of the Karen boys personally, told NextShark via Messenger that the Karen boys are between 17-19 years old.

The Karen are indigenous peoples located in the Thailand-Burma border region and are one of many ethnic groups in Burma. Many Karen people came to the U.S. in the early 2000s to escape the oppressive Burmese regime, with almost 215,000 Karen living in the nation.

NextShark has reached out to the Karen boy’s cousin, who can be heard in the followup video chasing down one of the attackers, yelling, “Yeah, you a b*tch!”

We also reached out multiple times through emails and calls to the West Des Moines and Des Moines police department who have not been able to provide any details on the case yet. We will update the story when necessary. This is a developing story.

Feature Image via Ku Ru To