Teen Killed In Attack Outside Graduation Party

BERLIN - Tragedy struck in an otherwise calm and peaceful Berlin neighborhood early yesterday morning when a local man was beaten to death, reportedly with a baseball bat, while attending a party for Stephen Decatur High School students who graduated earlier on Wednesday night.

According to police, Michael Harry Mitchell, 19, of Henry Rd. in Berlin, was attending a graduation party in the Decatur Farms community along Route 113 in Berlin early Tuesday morning when he and a group he was in were approached by another group of individuals in a vehicle. An altercation broke out between the two groups during which Mitchell was struck with a blunt object, reportedly a baseball bat, and died from the injuries he sustained in the attack.

According to police reports, the suspect or suspects then fled the scene in their vehicle. Another unnamed victim was also assaulted during the altercation and was transported to nearby Atlantic General Hospital, although his condition was not available as of late yesterday.

It's uncertain whether the attack was random or premeditated, according to police reports. However, sources indicated the attack was not random and that the individuals involved knew the victims and that something unknown sparked the assault. Sources said the victim was not a member of this year's Decatur graduating class.

Members of the Berlin Police Department were first to arrive on the scene early yesterday morning and quickly handed the case over to the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI), according to Berlin Police Chief Arnold Downing.

WCBI is currently working on the investigation with the help of the Berlin Police Department. Some suspects and persons of interest have been identified by detectives and efforts to locate those individuals were ongoing as of late yesterday.

Anyone with additional information about the case is urged to contact WCBI at 410-352-3476 and ask to speak to Detective/Cpl. Mumford.