Heartbroken mother speaks out after autistic son is brutally attacked in fake meet-up scheme

Sickening footage has emerged of a gang of young thugs bashing and stealing shoes from a 15-year-old boy with special needs, after he was lured to a rural train station under the guise of a friendly catch-up.The boy, who has autism and epilepsy, was elated when he received a Snapchat message from two girls wanting to be friends.They arranged to meet at a bus stop near a train station in the regional Victorian town of Stawell, about 237km northwest of Melbourne, at 5.45pm on October 5.But instead of two friendly faces, the boy from Ararat was met by three violent teenagers.Graphic footage captures three boys taunting the victim as he tries to walk away, before they throw punches and shove him to the ground.One of the teenagers holds the boy down, punching the side of his head, while two other alleged offenders kick at his face.A group of girls watch on as the disgusting act unfolds.When one of the girls is heard screaming, “Not the head,” the gang kicks the boy in the stomach.The attackers briefly stop, but the victim’s relief is short-lived as he suffers another blow to the face.The teenager filming the attack then demands the victim hand over his runners.“Take your shoes off right now … take your f**king shoes off,” he says.Confused, the victim asks, “What size shoe are you?” before suffering another blow to the face.The boy manages to remove his shoes.Remarkably, the teenager behind the camera thanks him before telling him to “get the f**k out of here.”In a desperate bid to understand the ambush, the boy asks one of them, “Who are you? I don’t know you,” prompting a final kick to the face.The ordeal lasted just over a minute, stealing any sense of safety the boy had left in going out on his own.While the attack unfolded, the boy’s mother thought her son was enjoying an afternoon out with friends.She only discovered the horrifying truth when she received a phone call from her son using a paramedic’s phone.“I wrap my kids up in cotto...