EHC Man Brutally Beaten in Halloween Attack Undergoes Surgery

EGG HARBOR CITY — The man brutally beaten on Halloween night over a bag of candy underwent surgery on his broken jaw Tuesday and faces six to eight weeks of recovery.

After Daniel Peterson refused to turn over his 15-year-old cousin's bag of candy, he was punched and kicked a group of more than a dozen teens.

Peterson's mother said he received 28 stitches.

Peterson's cousin, Ethan, suffered a concussion. The group stomped on him and held his arms behind his back.

Peterson's mother, Florita, told the Townsquare News Network that her son has no insurance and was released from his initial hospitalization on Friday. He could not eat or drink and was re-admitted over the weekend. Doctors at the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City refused to release him again without surgery.

"Six important people" visited with Daniel Peterson and tried to come up with a plan to help him, according to Florita, who said they found two oral surgeons at Cooper University Hospital.  He was transported by ambulance to the Camden facility on Monday night.

"They have to pull all his teeth and they're not going to wire his jaw. They're either going to put a bar through it and a halo around his head or they're going to put a titanium bar in to hold his jaw and that would be permanent," Florita said. His teeth will be replaced after he recovers from the surgery.

A GoFundMe page had collected nearly $13,000 by Tuesday afternoon.

"This is like a dream. It's all so real but at the same time its like watching a movie," Florita said.

She said the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office is now investigating but no arrests have been made.