Wild video shows the moment a group of self-identified US Marines were savagely beaten by as many as 40 teenagers after the service members confronted them about their unruly behavior on a California beach.
The victims said they were simply walking along the beach in San Clemente, California when they were confronted by a mob of teenagers at around 10pm Friday night.
Video posted online showed the two victims curled up in the fetal position on the ground as the crowd continued to kick them, hurling profanities and racial slurs.
The men sustained only minor injuries, and refused to be transported to a local hospital in the aftermath, Orange County Sheriff’s deputies say.
But the unknown teenagers in the video may now be charged with assault with a deadly weapon for ganging up on the two men as the investigation into the attack continues.
The victims were seen in footage of the assault posted online curled up in fetal position
Still, members of the mob continued to kick at the self-described Marines Friday night
There are believed to have been as many as 40 teenagers involved in the assault
In the roughly minute-long video posted to Facebook, the group of Marines in their civilian clothes could be seen trying to walk up the steps outside the Pier Bowl as a group of teenagers shouts at them.
As they approach the stairs, a male teenager could be seen punching the back of one of the Marine’s head.
Apparently irate, the Marine turns around and charges at the assailant, which leads to an all-out brawl, as the teens friends all jump in to take swings and kick the Marine.
The group is seen circling around the two Marines yelling ‘Get that f***er’ and ‘f*** that f***er up,’ even using the N-word at one point.
As the cameraman gets closer to the unfolding scene, two of the victims are seen curled up on the ground as the group continues to kick them.
The brawl only comes to an end after two passersby, an unknown man and woman, intervene and yell at the children, ‘Stop, what are you doing?’
It remains unclear what transpired prior to the video, but Hunter Antonio, one of the self-described Marines, told KCAL the fight began when he told the teens to stop lighting fireworks.
The brawl only ended when two unidentified passersby intervened and yelled at the teenagers
Orange County officials say, the two men sustained only minor injuries like an injury to the hand, scrapes to the knees and soreness to the abdomen, chest and head. They refused medical attention at the scene
He said he and his friend from the Marines were enjoying some rare time off from Camp Pendleton in Oceanside on Friday when the crowd began setting off the fireworks.
When a piece of debris hit him in the face, Antonio said he politely asked them to leave.
‘They were lighting off fireworks, they were being belligerent and obnoxious and annoying other people, so I went up to them and told them to stop,’ he recounted.
But the group followed him back to the pier, at which point Antonio said he and his friend warned the teenagers that they are Marines ‘so they would leave, but they didn’t.’
In the end, Orange County officials say, the two men sustained only minor injuries like an injury to the hand, scrapes to the knees and soreness to the abdomen, chest and head.
Antonio, though, fears he may also have a concussion.
‘My face still has blood on it,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t cool at all.’
Hunter Antonio, one of the self-described Marines, told KCAL the fight began when he told the teens to stop lighting fireworks
Arrests have yet to be made in the brutal attack, as Orange County Sheriff’s deputies continue their investigation.
But the suspects may be charged with assault with a deadly weapon ‘because of the amount of suspects we are investigating,’ Sheriff Sgt. Frank Gonzalez said.
‘The weapons that were used were their feet while these victims were on the ground,’ he explained.
‘So regardless if the victims choose prosecution or choose medical attention, the sheriff’s department is going to investigate this to the fullest and try to determine who the suspects are.’
