LEWISTON — In the early evening on the first day of summer, a large group of Somali boys approached a woman on the corner of Ash and Pierce streets. According to police reports, they intimidated the woman and slapped her in the back of the head before scattering into the downtown.

Five days later, shortly after midnight, a man was accosted by a group of Somali boys outside the Big Apple on Main Street. Police reports say several members of the group punched the man and took money from him. They then fled in a car.

Later that night, a woman in her late 60s was beaten by a group of Somali boys and relieved of cash while walking in Kennedy Park.

Five nights later, another man was jumped by a group of similar description. He resisted the gang and was beaten badly. He required surgery.

Throughout the summer, similar reports have come into the Police Department. Witnesses and investigators say swarms of Somali boys, some as young as 8, others in their late teens, overwhelm solitary victims through sheer numbers.

“It’s not gang activity in the traditional sense,” Deputy Chief James Minkowsky said. “We’re not seeing the colors or the monikers, but it’s still a gang mentality.”

Often, these gang members carry sticks and rocks with which to intimidate their victims. There are often four or five of them, sometimes as many as a dozen. Typically, they threaten or beat their victims until they give up the goods: money, bicycles, cell phones, prescription drugs, or other items of value.

Then they scatter.

“By the time the call gets to us, the group has dispersed,” Minkowsky said.

The attacks continued all summer; more than a dozen were reported to police. There were more in the fall and a series of them in recent weeks. In each attack, the victim is one who may have appeared weak to the group that descended on them.

“They single out a person who is walking alone. The victim is often intoxicated,” Minkowsky said. “Or he might be small. They look for someone who is not likely to fight back or present much of a challenge.”

On the first day of December, a man walking through Kennedy Park after leaving a Park Street club said he was attacked by four Somali males. The group came at him from behind, knocked him down and stole prescription drugs and $150 in cash. That man told police it was the second time he was attacked in such a fashion. The first time, he was able to escape.

On the last day of November, there were three such attacks reported in Lewiston: one in the area of Central Maine Medical Center, another on Bartlett Street, the third in Kennedy Park.

In another attack, a woman walking a dog in the park was set upon. The assailants, a group of Somali males, beat her dog with a stick. Police later tracked down one of the attackers. He was a 10-year-old boy.

In late summer, an off-duty civilian police employee was eating at a local restaurant. A local boy ran to the window, screaming for help. The police employee ran outside and found a group — roughly a half-dozen — of Somali boys. When confronted, they ran off.

Police say they are investigating the attacks on several fronts. They are using new technology and new techniques. A bigger break came in recent weeks when they were approached by a group that wants to help.

“Members of the Somali community came to us,” Minkowsky says. “They set up a meeting with us and came in to talk about it. They want to help us combat it.”

Police Chief Michael Bussiere pointed out that the attackers do not appear to involve large segments of the Somali population. It seems to be a select group that has organized to carry out the attacks.

Police say group robberies are almost unheard of in Lewiston. In the past, when multiple people have attacked a lone victim, two or three assailants were reported and the assault was typically prompted by intoxication or old rivalries.

Not so with the Somali attacks.

“We haven’t seen that it’s been fueled by alcohol or drugs,” Minkowsky said. He added that robbery appears to be a primary motivation among the Somali gangs. “But in some cases, they seem to do it for the thrill of it.”

Stephen Wessler, director of the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence, said he was not aware of the Somali assaults in Lewiston. After hearing the nature of them, he said the attacks likely were not the type that involve his group. The motive appears to be robbery, rather than race.

While investigating the ambush-style attacks, police have little to compare them with, at least locally. A search of assaults dating back to spring revealed no incidents of a similar nature involving non-Somalis.

“This is unique,” Minkowsky said.

There have been a few arrests since the attacks began. Minkowsky said many of the suspects had dropped out of school. Their parents seemed to have no idea that their children had become part of a roving gang.

Seeing children as young as 8 running the streets with teens closing in on 20 is something police are not used to seeing. There is a lot about the attacks investigators have not seen before.

That’s why it helps them enormously to have input from the Somali elders.

“It’s an interesting dynamic for us,” Minkowsky said. “We’re still on the learning curve with this. Getting help from the Somali community is probably our best chance to resolve it.”

mlaflamme@sunjournal.com