I see that a sickening Philadelphia story involving the apparently random, near fatal beating of a Haitian immigrant has reached the attention of Drudge, who links to this Breitbart report. The facts are appalling enough simply because of the cavalier nature of what was done:

A Drexel University engineering graduate student told police he was attacked Friday afternoon by four young men who beat him and tried to throw him in front of a moving car, authorities said. The 30-year-old victim was treated for a dislocated jaw.

The suspects, walking around after a scheduled half-day of school, videotaped themselves before the attack as they discussed how they were going to assault a random victim, then took turns holding the camera during the beating, said police Lt. John Walker.

"They were talking about (how) it was an early day (from school), the weather was nice, and what they were going to do," Walker said. "In the beginning, it's almost like a documentary."

"Just pick somebody out, anybody out," one student said to another on the video, according to Walker. He said there were about two minutes of taping before the assault.

Police identified one of the suspects arrested Monday as Tyrez Osbourne, 18. The other, ages 17 and 16, were not identified because of their ages. After their arrests, all four were expelled from University City High School, district officials said.

Four University City High School students have been arrested on charges of randomly beating and nearly killing a Drexel University graduate student by shoving him into traffic in West Philadelphia - all the while videotaping the attack, police said yesterday.

"It's a very disturbing film," said Lt. John F. Walker of Southwest Detectives' Special Investigation Unit. "It's just mind-boggling."

The 30-year-old engineering student, a Haitian immigrant whose name was not released, was assaulted on 36th Street just south of Spring Garden Street at 1:10 p.m. Friday as he was walking northbound to his nearby apartment, Walker said at a news conference.

The victim wants to leave Philadelphia and return home to Haiti, Walker said. "He's very fearful of his life and of living in that area," he said.

The victim asked police not to release his name out of fear for his safety, said Capt. Benjamin Naish, a police spokesman. Police say they do not believe the attack was a hate crime.

What I find most appalling about this story is something that I keep seeing in reports involving horrendous crimes -- recitals that the accused criminals are actually good people. Breitbart quotes the mother of one of the accused:

Osbourne's mother said he was an innocent bystander who happened to be nearby and caught on tape.

"He ain't that kind of guy," she told The Philadelphia Inquirer.

But the Inquirer also quotes teachers who say pretty much the same thing:

Jeffrey Rosenberg, a health and physical education teacher at University City High and the teachers' union representative in the building, said one of those arrested was a student in his class.

He said he was stunned by the news.

"You meet these kids. You have a good rapport with them in classes. It just makes you wonder: How much do we really know them?" he said. "It's very disturbing, very upsetting."

The football coach of these is quoted as being "stunned" by the fact that a "nice young man" would do something like this:

Ken Gritter, University City High's assistant basketball coach, said word of the arrests had already spread among basketball players yesterday when he heard about them from a reporter.

"I would not have expected that of him," Gritter said of the player he was told was involved. "He's a very nice young man. Stunned is the only word that comes to mind."

Fortunately for law abiding firearms owners, there weren't any guns involved. (The word "children" seems to be reserved for occasions when a teenager gets shot.)

Still, there's the lingering question of what would make nice people go out and do something like this.

To make a video?

Video. That must be it.

I blame violent videos for video violence. Plus the easy availability and low cost of video equipment.