Authorities in San Clemente, Calif., have arrested nine teenagers who were allegedly involved in a mob attack on three U.S. Marines, according to reports.
San Clemente Mayor Chris Duncan said in a statement that the Orange County Sheriff’s Department has filed charges against the teenagers. Five of them are facing accusations of assault with a deadly weapon, while the remaining four are charged with misdemeanor assault and battery.
“They think they have the people they are looking for,” Duncan said. “Not to say that there might not be a few others out there. They feel pretty confident that they have the main perpetrators. … They had some videotape that wasn’t readily available to the public that had a lot better images of the individuals involved.”
“In today’s age, you’re going to get caught — people are going to record it,” Duncan added, according to the UK’s Daily Mail. “I hope this serves as a learning lesson for young folks in the community not to let themselves get out of control when something like this happens.”
A group of about 40 teens brutally attacked and assaulted the three Marines near a California beach Saturday night, as noted in a now-viral video over Memorial Day weekend.
The Marines, who were on their off-duty time from Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, were gathered on the beach in San Clemente around 10 p.m. During that time, one of the Marines, Hunter Antonino was struck in the face by a piece of debris. This incident led him to request the group to cease lighting fireworks.
“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 recalled.
He added that the group continued to trail the Marines as they made their way back to the pier. At that point, Antonino and another Marine identified themselves as Marines to the group, hoping to deter any further harassment.
Instead, the group launched a brutal assault on the Marines. One member of the group initiated the violence by punching a Marine in the back, which led the Marine to retaliate and engage in the altercation. Disturbing video footage captured the scene, showing two of the Marines curled up in a defensive position on the ground while being subjected to kicks and racial slurs from the group. They also sustained kicks to their heads and upper bodies during the attack.
None of the Marines elected to seek medical attention after the incident.
“This is San Clemente, Marines are always welcome here, always going to be celebrated, always taken care of, and that is why this is so particularly tragic,” Duncan said.
