when josie ratley e-mailed back, she said she didn't approve of their relationship. it went back and forth. she made a disparaging remark about the boy's older brother who committed suicide recently. they said he became enraged, put on steel-toed books, road three

parents just ahead. >>> but let's begin with the latest on that vicious attack on 15-year-old josie ratley, allegedly over a text messaging dispute. in a moment we'll talk to the family of ratley's 13-year-old friend who faces charges in the case. but first, here's nbc's michelle kosinski. >> reporter: don't let the handcuffs, jail jump suits or felony charges fool you. they look like children because they are children. accused in a vicious beating of eighth-grader josie ratley last week. now hanging on to life in a medically induced coma after two brain surgeries. >> 911. what is your emergency? >> my friend is unconscious from another student on -- through a battery. >> reporter: it happened right outside deerfield beach middle while josie waited for her bus after school. >> he's in my office area. in the front office. >> put your phone down. put your phone down know. >> reporter: that caller is describing 15-year-old wayne treacy, accused of attempted pre-med kated murder of the girl police say he had never met. it all seemed to come out of nowhere for the boy who had never been in trou

they say the 15-year-old boy attacked josie ratley outside her school last week. the sheriff says a text message from ratley apparently enraged in young man. the incident after ratley loaned her phone to a 1-year-old girl. police say she's the one who pointed out ratley to the suspect. they later arrested the 13-year-old girl and charged her as accessory to attempted murder. we have the 911 call that was taken right after the beating. so listen to this. >> i don't know if we have a call came in. we have a student that's unconscious from another student due to battery. >> what's the address? >> 901 south sixth avenue. beerfield beach. i'm sorry, 701 south sixth avenue. and i also needed police immediately. i have a high school student who created the injury to this child. i need someone to make an rest. >> so far, ratley has had two surgeries to reduce brain swelling and remove a blood clot. doctors are saying they're not sure of her long-term prognosis. >>> pittsburgh steelers quarterback ben roethlisberger will not be giving a dna sample to georgia police. his att

police say a 15-year-old boy is accused of brutally beating josie ratley. he texted friends and told them of intentions to kill her yet not one, not one, warned the authorities. here's what police say he texted the victim in this alleged text message war, quote, i'm coming over there and i'm going to snap your neck. that was before the attack after school that day. listen to the broud county sheriff speaking on nbc's "today show." >> we've all dealt with road rage in the past and now have text rage. it's just got to stop somewhere. >> he's right. it does have to stop and he's right about the text rage. let's get back to basics. a 15-year-old barely hanging on in a medically induced coma. that's how serious this has gotten. something has to be done. we'll take your calls, your thoughts on this, your questions, 1-877-tell-hln's the number. joining me to talk about this welcome back diana moskovitz covering this since the beginning from the "miami harold" also mary some j jo rapini, starting with what the sheriff is saying. this is about a texting rage. i think

josie ratley is still in a coma after two brain surgeries.ou have a high school freshman accused of beating this eighth grader into inches of her life, a girl he had never met. you also have a 13-year-old accused here and police say it started with text messages. wayne treacy is 15 with the face of a baby and a charge of attempted, premeditated murder. never in trouble before, she is 13, also accused in the savage beating of josie ratley, who went to eighth grade last week and left in critical condition. >> she's in an induced coma. part of her skull has been removed to allow the swelling of her brain to go down and is black and blue head to toe. >> reporter: all over a few text messages. 15-year-old josie was waiting for her bus outside school. police say treacy texted her, tried to reach her 13-year-old friend, who didn't have a text phone but when josie responded, disapproving of their relationship, things got heated. jo sie made a disparaging remark of trecacy's brother's suicide. he said he would kill josie and, wearing steel-toed boots,

when josie ratley e-mailed back, she said she didn't approve of their relationship.went back and forth. she made a disparaging remark about the boy's older brother who committed suicide recently. they said he became enraged, put on steel-toed books, road three miles to the school and messaged other friends he wanted to kill this girl. when he got to the school, he couldn't even find her. he had never seen her before. he then asked the 13-year-old friend to point josie out. the friend did and then watched as he beat her savagely. now she's fighting for her life. both the boy and the 13-year-old friend are charged. david. >> nbc's michelle kosinski in florida. michelle, thanks for the report. >>> a developing story out of southern california to tell you about. police are asking for the public's health in searching for missing 11-year-old cody burton. he disappeared taking out the trash last night. he weighs about 85 pounds, four feet tall, black hair, brown eyes. last seen wearing black and gray basketball shorts. >>> is president obama paying enough attention to afric

. >> reporter: when 15-year-old wayne tracy hunted down eighth grader josie ratley wednesday, policeay he beat nearly to death a girl he'd never even seen before. >> he punched her, she fell to the ground, he continued to punch her, he stomped on her -- >> reporter: investigators say he then kicked her "soccer-style" with steel-toed boots. >> it was painful just to see all the blood gushing out of her head. >> reporter: 15-year-old ratley was unconscious by the time a teacher managed to pry tracy off. police say it began when tracy, who never had disciplinary problems, tried to reach his 13-year-old girlfriend, kayla manson, who doesn't own a cell phone. he texted her friend, ratley, who expressed her disapproval of his relationship with manson. >> she responded back in a manner -- she said some things he didn't apparently like. >> reporter: specifically, sheriff lamberti told abc news, one text mentioned the recent suicide of tracy's older brother whom the 15-year-old found hanging from a tree. in a rage, investigators say, he texted friends that he was going to kill ratley and rode

broward county deputies called a 13-year-old girl an accessory to the beating of josie ratley. ratley, an eighth grate student, was beaten wednesday at a school bus stop. a 15-year-old boy, seen here, and because of his age we are blurring his face, knocked ratley down, then kicked her in the head with his steel-eed boots. he is facing attempted murder charges and ratley is in a medically induced coma. >> just batted. >> hooked up to machines. >> swollen. she's controlled by machines. she cannot respond to us. she's in a coma. >> authorities say ratley and the suspect h never met before the attack. instead they say a text messaging dispute may have triggered the fight. >>> some unbelievable video here. a woman was hit by an suv, it was caught on tape. we have to tell you she is okay, here it is. the view from the dash cam of a police cruiser near atlanta. there she goes. getting hit. the woman's crossing the street in a crosswalk when she is hit by another won driving that suv. it is hard to look at. what the video does not show, though, is the driver leaving the scene. the vict

our heart goes out to the family of josie lou ratley. the 15-year-old who was beaten so bad she's in a coma fighting for her life. police in deer beach florida, a 15-year-old boy never met face to face, brutally attacked her. her family has sent us nophotou. i have to warning you, they're disturbing, graphic. here it is, it is tough to watch but that is the aftermath of this beating. it's been almost a week since the attack and word is, it all started over a text message. here's the broward county sheriff speaking on the nbc's "today" show. >> it seems like kids are not communicating like we used to. it's either the internet, it's text messaging, it's just that art of communication isn't there. and i think that -- that callousness -- well, hey, is no innerpersonal relationships anymore and it's very raze when you don't know the person. >> interesting point there. we'll talk about it, by the way a 13-year-old girl is also charged as an accomplice. this is allegedly the 13-year-old pointed out victim in here josie lou ratley. joining me to

broward county deputies called the 15-year-old girl an accessory to the beating of josie ratley. police say a 15-year-old boy knocked ratley down and kicked her in the head with his steel towed boots. he's facing attempted murder charges and ratley is in a medically induced coma. >> she's controlled by machines, she cannot respond to us. she's in a coma. >> authorities say ratley and the suspect had never met fore the attack, instead a text messaging dispute may have triggered the fight. >>> a teenager has been arrested in connection with a racial comment made over the intercom in a new jersey walmart. last sunday a voice came over the p. avrmt system and calmly announced, attention walmart customers all black people leave the store now. a manager at the new jersey store quickly apologized. police say the 16-year-old boy they arrested yesterday is facing charges of harassment and bias intimidation. police say he has been released and handeded over to his parents. >>> africanized bees sent a man running and out of his clothes. a man was cutting trees and got too close to the bes co

but the thing is, josie lou ratley is still in critical condition, and still in a medically-induced comashe has already had two surgeries to relieve pressure on her brain. a 15-year-old boy is accused of punching and stomping ratley with steel-toed boots. he is being held on a juvenile detention center. this morning the broward county sheriff stressed that authority figures need to be proactive in children's' lives. >> we can't arrest our way out of the problem. law enforcement, you know, we're reactive. something happens, we react to it. like mr. treacy. he is in custody, but that doesn't help josie. it's what can we do before these problems occur, whether it's at home, school, churches. that's where we need to focus our efforts. again, by the time law enforcement gets involved, it's usually too late. we can't arrest our way out of the problem. we need to start early. >> ratley's mother insists her daughter did not know the suspect, and says she doesn't know if thing can ever go back to normal. a 13-year-old girl has also been charged as an accessory in at attack, by the way. >>> a disn

. >>> also this afternoon, we have an update on 15-year-old josie ratley.he was viciously beaten up outside of a school last week. the pictures are very difficult to look at. investigators say she was kicked, stomped on, he head was slapped into the pavement. all outside of a middle school in south florida. she's been in a medically-induced coma since the attack. an attorney speaking for the families said the doctors started to bring her out of the coma this weekend, but she's not responding well. she can't even breathe on her own. her family is very, very worried about her prognosis. >> by all accounts, the left brain activity is damaged, which means the right side of her body is going to have significant problems. i'm not a doctor, but from what i'm hearing that could include her arm, her leg, her hand, and her speech movements. and the biggest concern for the family right now is if any of you took the time to look at the unbelievably art that josie has been doing for several years, she did it with her right hand. and now they've devastated that a potenti