An elderly U.K. man was reportedly killed while walking his dog over the weekend, and local authorities have now arrested five children — all under the age of 15 — in connection with the killing.
Bhim Sen Kohli, 80, was killed after the alleged attack on Sunday, Sept. 1, in a park in a town in England’s Leicestershire county, local authorities said in a statement.
He was not named in the police statement, but has been identified by the Leicester Mercury, The Telegraph and Sky News, among several other outlets.
Kohli died after he was taken to the hospital, Leicestershire police said, adding that they arrested five people — two 14-year-olds and three 12-year-olds — on suspicion of murder. The Telegraph reported that Kohli died on Monday.
Kohli was reportedly walking his dog when he was “seriously” attacked, the police statement said. The suspects allegedly fled the scene before first responders arrived.
A neighbor who heard the attack as it happened described a violent encounter, per LBC UK.
“He was lying in the park, screaming in pain,” said the neighbor, who was not named in the report. “He said he was violently pushed over.”
Kohli’s daughter told the Leicester Mercuryin their print variation that he was merely seconds away from his home when he was attacked. She found him lying under a tree with a neck injury, and he claimed he was unable to move his legs, LBC UK reported.
The woman, who is also not named in the reports, told the outlet the Leicester Mercury that the elderly man was pushed before the suspects allegedly “kicked him in the neck, kicked him in the spine.”
Kohli, who was reportedly the owner of a clothing factory, is being remembered as “gentle” and “lovely” by his neighbor Deep Singh Kalia, per The Telegraph.
Kalia, 70, told the outlet that the two would meet each other daily.
“He loved his dog and loved his family,” Kalia said, later adding, “I don’t know why anyone would have wanted to do something like this to him.”
A senior investigator with Leicestershire police said his killing is now a murder investigation, but it wasn’t immediately clear what charges the suspects are facing.
