It all began over a pair of headphones.

Jonathan Lewis Jr. was 17 years old, a pretty typical high school kid in Las Vegas. But when he went to protect a friend who was being bullied in an incident involving stolen headphones, he was set upon by an angry mob of other teens and beaten into a coma. He died less than a week later.

Now, eight teenagers are in custody, having been identified from a video taken during the attack. Two other teens are still at large. As of this writing, the eight suspects are being charged with murder, although it is unclear whether they will be tried as adults. The accused teens' names have not been released due to their ages.

Eight teens were arrested and charged with murder in the “senseless beating” of 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis Jr. as authorities revealed Tuesday the after-school fight in Las Vegas started over stolen headphones.

The eight suspects were taken into custody and booked in juvenile hall after the disturbing footage of the vicious beatdown spread across social media in recent days, the Las Vegas Metro Police Department said in a press conference. 

Lewis died on Nov. 7 — less than a week after he was punched and kicked on the ground in a back alley near Rancho High School. 

His cause of death was blunt force trauma and classified as a homicide, authorities said during the press conference streamed by the Las Vegas Review Journal.

The arrested teens, ranging from ages 13 to 17 and Rancho High School students, were quickly identified from the graphic video, police said. 

Two more unidentified suspects are still being sought.

You can view the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police briefing on the case here.

What's shocking about this is the utter savagery of the whole affair. A video of the attack exists - I won't present it here - and the statement about it being provoked over something as trivial as a pair of headphones makes it even more unconscionable. It's safe to assume, as well, that young Mr. Lewis was either the proper owner of said headphones or his unnamed friend was; that makes it even more horrific, as the gang that beat Jonathan Lewis to death were, in effect, brutalizing him for having the temerity to question their act of theft.

This is the latest in the trend towards lawlessness in many of the nation's major cities, and, indeed, the world. In many urban areas, "flash mobs" of organized thieves will show up without warning to ransack business establishments; every political election outcome, action, or legislation may provoke mobs of looters; and too many businesses and corporations are browbeaten to the point where it's easier to step back and let the robberies happen.

In this case, in Las Vegas, a young man with his entire life ahead of him is dead, a victim of this same mentality -- that if you are part of a mob, you can do as you please -- because, in many places, you'll get away with it.

Not in Las Vegas, at least not this time. Eight of the 10 savages who beat Jonathan Lewis to death are in jail. If there is any justice in Nevada, they will be tried as adults and subject to the concomitant penalties. This was an act of evil, nothing less. 

Evil must be answered for. Justice must be done.