Bullies use padlock-filled sock

Bullying took a violent turn when a teen girl whipped around a sock full of metal padlocks at 66th and Center streets Thursday afternoon.

According to the Wauwatosa police report:

Two girls were riding the county bus when a man randomly started verbally bullying them and three girls laughingly egged him on. When the two victims got off the bus, the three other girls followed them and continued to make rude comments.

One of the victims dialed 911, but one of the bullies swatted the phone out of her hands. When the victim eventually started yelling back at the instigators, one of the bullies pulled out a sock containing three padlocks that were linked together. She started swinging.

The victims were able to dodge the weapon, and an officer saw the fight unfolding in the middle of Center Street at 12:08 p.m.

Two of the bullies ran off when the officer arrived. The third, who had been urging her friends to stop being mean, stayed behind.