Chicago Beating Victim Emerges From Coma

The 13-year-old victim of a beating that police called racially motivated is emerging from a coma and was moved to a rehabilitation hospital Friday.

Lenard Clark will spend at least six weeks at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, then continue as an outpatient, said pediatrician Lisa Thornton.

Doctors are developing a program of physical and speech therapy, but Thornton said it is too soon to tell whether the boy will completely recover. “We’re talking at least six months for recovery, possibly years,” she said at a news conference.

Lenard was attacked March 21 in the mostly white Bridgeport neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. His head was slammed into a building and he was kicked repeatedly.

Three teenage suspects, who are white, are accused of targeting Lenard because he is black. They are charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery and committing a hate crime. They are free on bond and have denied involvement.