Source: Louisville, KY -- A woman punched in the face by a teenage boy during a string of assaults and robberies in downtown Louisville tells WDRB she was scared for her life and the lives of her children. Viola Loeffler and her boyfriend were nearing a stoplight downtown Saturday night when all of a sudden, they say a mob of teenagers surrounded their car. The scariest part? They had five children with them. This is like something out of a movie. I've never seen anything like this before, said Loeffler. It was around 8 p.m. Saturday when Viola Loeffler says she and her family were attacked at the intersection at First and Liberty. Right before we got to the stoplight, we noticed about 50 to 100 teens coming to the middle of the street. It was a one-way street so we couldn't go any further. All of a sudden, one of them throws a garbage can on our car, said Loeffler. Loeffler says after that, the situation quickly escalated. Her boyfriend, Ron Carter, was in the driver's seat and stopped the car to see what was going on. They say when he got out, the teens moved in on him. All of a sudden, I'm getting attacked, Carter told WDRB. Meanwhile, Loeffler and her five children were still inside the car. At that point , I jump in the driver's seat. I hear them throwing rocks at my car. The rocks were hitting the kids inside of the car, said Loeffler. Survival mode, and I tried to analyze the situation as quick as possible and figure out the safest way to get everyone safe, said Carter. Loeffler says she couldn't speed away because they were surrounded by the group of teens and she didn't want to run them over. That's when she says one of them attacked her. The boy comes out of nowhere, punches me in my eye, knocks me out. I had blood coming from everywhere. I was just freaking out. It did hurt, really bad. It scared me, Loeffler said. She says the next moments were a blur but somehow, Loeffler, Carter and all five kids made their way to Bader's Food Mart and were able to get to safety until police got there. All I kept thinking about was the kids, she said. Loeffler says her children, all under the age of 12, witnessed everything. One of my kids, she needs counseling. She's been having nightmares these past few days, waking up shaking and crying. There needs to be better guidance for these kids around here. I'm very glad that we're alive, Loeffler told WDRB. Investigators say the attack on Carter and Loeffler is among 17 confirmed incidents from Saturday night.

• published: 06 Apr 2014
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