17-Year-Old NYC Girl Dies After Brutal Beating by Group of Teens 

A Brooklyn, N.Y., teen died Tuesday night, succumbing to injuries she suffered after a brutal beating, authorities and her family confirmed, the New York Daily News reports. 

Ta’Jae Warner was declared brain dead Sunday night after she was beaten late Friday night outside Ocean Towers in the Coney Island neighborhood, prosecutors say. Ta’Jae’s younger brother was with her at the time of the beating. 

The teen was kept on life support at Bellevue Hospital so that out-of-state relatives could say goodbye, as well as for organ donation. 

Another teen, 18-year-old Sarina Agard-Ford, is accused of beating Ta’Jae in the head until she lost consciousness. Agard-Ford has been charged with felony and misdemeanor assault, the Daily News reports. Prosecutors also expect to bring more serious charges against her, a Brooklyn district attorney’s office spokesperson told the site. 

According to family friend Lissette Pizarro, Ta’Jae was walking with her 11-year-old brother to the store, when a group of teens confronted them, made a remark and started attacking the 17-year-old. 

“She was very kind-hearted, loving, outgoing,” Pizarro said of Ta’Jae.

A William E. Grady High School sophomore, Ta’Jae was said to love colorful outfits and that she regularly performed dance routines with a group of classmates. 

According to the Daily News, Tony Herbert, a community activist, called on anyone else involved in the brutal assault to surrender to the police.

“A 17-year-old girl was attacked by people who looked just like her, you know. Black lives matter,” Herbert said in a Facebook video post, according to the Daily News. 

Read more at the New York Daily News.