Hunter Antonino, inset, is one of the self-identified Marines who said he was attacked on a Southern California pier over Memorial Day weekend. (Screenshots from CBS News Los Angeles)
A group of up to 30 teens and young adults beat several Marines on a Southern California pier over the Memorial Day weekend after the Marines told them to stop lighting fireworks.
The fight happened Friday night at the San Clemente Pier, authorities said. The Marines were treated for minor injuries to their hands, knees, abdomens and heads and refused to go to a hospital, officials said.
Hunter Antonino, one of the self-identified Marines who was attacked, told CBS Los Angeles the crowd was setting off fireworks. When debris hit him in the face, he asked the group to move on, the station reported.
“They were lighting off fireworks, they were being belligerent, they were being obnoxious and annoying other people, so I went up to them and told them to stop,” he told the station.
A teen swung at the back of the victim’s head. When the Marine turned and charged at his attacker, the crowd was set off, he told the station.
The Marines can be seen in the video on the ground, trying to protect themselves as the group punches and kicks them.
It ended when a man and a woman told the group to stop, the station reported.
A neighbor recorded the incident, the station reported.
Sheriff’s deputies are searching for the attackers and have increased patrols around the pier.
“The Orange County Sheriff’s Department will continue investigating this matter until all individuals responsible are identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” officials said in a statement.
Orange County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Frank Gonzalez said the attack is considered an assault with a deadly weapon “because of the amount of suspects we are investigating,” the station reported.
“The weapons that were used were their feet while these victims were on the ground,” Gonzalez said, the station reported.
The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to an email from Law&Crime on Tuesday.
Residents were angry it happened in their community.
“This is an epic embarrassment to our city, not to mention inexcusably disrespectful to the USMC,” Da Dawson wrote on Facebook. “Are we really going to stand by and let ANYONE beat on Marines in this town, even if they are just ‘high school kids’? What kind of adults do kids like THAT turn into?”
In response, Amanda Hicks wrote:
“I try my best to honor them every chance I get. I want them to know this is NOT San Clemente and we will NOT tolerate this behavior. PERIOD”
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