NEWARK — City Police have arrested three of the teenagers involved in a rash of beatings and robberies outside the Prudential Center after a sold-out rock concert on Saturday, authorities said.

Two 15-year-olds and a 16-year-old, whose identities were withheld because of their age, were arrested Wednesday and charged with rioting, aggravated assault, conspiracy and robbery in connection with a series of brutal attacks that left one victim with a shattered eye socket and another unconscious, according to police spokesman Sgt. Ronald Glover.

Around 1 p.m. Wednesday, investigators developed detailed descriptions of each teen and received information that the suspects were traveling on an NJ Transit bus near Broad and Court Streets, a half-mile from the scene of the Saturday night assaults, Glover said. Police surrounded the bus, and the teens were arrested without incident, according to Glover.

The trio was part of a larger group of teens involved in the brutal assault and robbery of five people as they left a sold-out Red Hot Chili Peppers Concert in Newark Saturday night, police officials have said. One victim was left with a shattered eye socket, and another was beaten unconscious in front of his 14-year-old son, according to police reports. Two Livingston teens were also hurt, and one suffered at least four fractures to his face, according to one of the victim's fathers.

At least five people were hurt in three different incidents, according to police reports obtained by The Star-Ledger. In the press release issued this morning, Glover said there were the roving band of teens was involved in "five separate incidents."

On Tuesday, Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio said the teens' motive was to harm their victims, not to rob them. He said several of the assailants were "laughing" during the attacks.

DeMaio said earlier this week the group was comprised of between 10 and 15 teenagers. All of the attacks were captured on video, according to DeMaio, who said the assaults lasted less than two minutes.

“While the arrest of these juveniles is a bittersweet accomplishment I would like to applaud the detectives assigned to our Major Crimes Unit for their relentless pursuit of these dangerous and reckless juveniles," DeMaio said this morning in a statement. "I am alarmed that our youth who should either be at home under a parent’s supervision or engaged in some type of productive or recreational activity, are instead roaming our streets creating mayhem through senseless and random acts of violence."

Related coverage:

• Newark police: Violence may have been chief motivation in brutal Prudential Center assaults

• Group of 10 or 15 'thugs' rob and beat 5 people following Prudential Center concert, cops say

