There is no indication from the Trinbune story regarding the race of the attackers. That is the paper's policy, for good or ill.

So is it wrong to assume that the 15-20 "youths" who attacked a man in the mostly white Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago were black and were racially motivated? Without any reporting from the newspaper, or knowing if the victim was white, such a charge would be perilous to make. Perhaps it was a mix of black and white or black and Hispanic kids.

But since the police arrested 8 other teenagers for "mugging" another man in the downtown area the previous night - and at least one of the suspects is black as can be seen from his mug shot -- the chances that this was a black on white crime grows.

A man walking home from work was attacked and beaten by a large group of people on the Gold Coast late Sunday, police said.

The 36-year-old man suffered a laceration above his right eye and bruising to his head and body during the attack at 10 p.m. in the 800 block of North Dewitt Place, police said, citing early reports.

The group of attackers was comprised of between 15 and 20 males and females, police said. Preliminary police reports indicated that they may have been teenagers.

Police are listing the attack as a battery and there is no indication that the man was robbed, said Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer Robert Perez. The attackers did not appear to say anything to the man to indicate why he was targeted, Perez said.

"It was without provocation, they just attacked," Perez said.

The man was taken to nearby Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released.

Whatever it is, these "flash mobs" are a growing problem in the US and we are likely to hear a lot more stories such as this one during the summer: