Officials say nine teenagers were arrested Tuesday following the beating of three Marines in San Clemente, California.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, four boys and one girl are facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon, the New York Post reported Wednesday, adding the group was currently in juvenile hall.
In addition, four other young people are facing charges of misdemeanor assault and battery, according to reports.
The case involved a group of approximately 40 people accused of attacking the three servicemembers at the Pier Bowl on May 26.
“Security cameras from Fisherman’s Restaurant and Bar apparently captured the incident, and IT technicians are working to isolate images to identify suspects,” Breitbart News reported Tuesday.
San Clemente Mayor Chris Duncan said deputies believe they have caught the people involved, adding, “Not to say that there might not be a few others out there. They feel pretty confident that they have the main perpetrators.”
The KUSI News video footage shows the brawl, which took place at the pier.
Duncan said the incident was “disgusting and shocking, basically, to see this level of violence, especially attacking Marines.”
The mob allegedly targeted the Marines once they asked them to stop setting off fireworks in the area because debris reportedly hit one of them in the face.
However, when they identified themselves as Marines, the group apparently ignored them and continued what they were doing.
It did not take long for the group to follow the men, verbally berate them, then allegedly attack them by kicking, punching, and stomping on them.
The group finally backed off when two people ran over, yelling at the mob to stop.
“This is considered assault with a deadly weapon because of the amount of suspects that we are investigating. The weapons that were used were their feet while these victims were on the ground,” an official with the sheriff’s department told KCAL News on Monday:
“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,” he added.
The Marines involved suffered minor injuries and did not go to the hospital for treatment, the Breitbart News report said.
“San Clemente Pier Bowl is a 25-minute drive from Camp Pendleton. The military base is ‘The West Coast’s Premier Fleet Marine Force Training Base’ with approximately 42,000 active duty personnel stationed there,” the article noted.
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