Pre-meditated mayhem in Philly

There is so much wrong with this kind of behavior:

4 Teens Arrested for Beating Man in Philadelphia

Four teens were arrested on attempted murder charges after they beat up a man who was chosen at random, videotaping the planning and the attack "almost like a documentary," police said.

A Drexel University engineering graduate student told police he was attacked Friday afternoon by four young men who beat him and tried to throw him in front of a moving car, authorities said. The 30-year-old victim was treated for a dislocated jaw.

The suspects, walking around after a scheduled half-day of school, videotaped themselves before the attack as they discussed how they were going to assault a random victim, then took turns holding the camera during the beating, said police Lt. John Walker.

Only one of the assailants is identified (the eldest, at 17). And of course his mother says he couldn't have been involved.

Osbourne's mother said he was an innocent bystander who happened to be nearby and caught on tape.

"He ain't that kind of guy," she told The Philadelphia Inquirer.

And it don't rain in Indianapolis in the summertime.

You have to wonder how much some of the TV, music videos and movies out today that glorify gang behavior (often from the perspective of a hand-held video-cam) contribute to the kind of "values" that would make pre-planning an attempted murder "cool"?

And wouldn't this category of crime be automatically upgraded to "Pre-meditated"?