Nine teenagers have been charged in connection with a Memorial Day weekend attack on two off-duty Marines on the beach in San Clemente, California.
KCAL-TV reported the gang that kicked and punched the Marines was estimated to be 30 to 40 youths.
The incident began Friday night when one of the men confronted teens who were setting off fireworks on the beach after debris from one of them struck him in the face, the report said. Video of the incident showed one teen punching a Marine from behind to start the melee.
The Marines ended up on the ground, where they were kicked and stomped.
WARNING: The following video contains violence that some viewers may find disturbing.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release that the two men were treated at the scene and did not want to go to a hospital.
Late Tuesday, the department said in a Twitter post that five juveniles — four male and one female — had been arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
— OCSD – San Clemente (@OCSDSanClemente) May 31, 2023
Orange County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Frank Gonzalez told KCAL, “This is considered an assault with a deadly weapon because of the amount of suspects we are investigating. The weapons that were used were their feet while these victims were on the ground.”
San Clemente Mayor Chris Duncan said Tuesday nine juveniles had been arrested, according to CBS News.
In addition to the five suspects charged with assault with a deadly weapon and admitted to juvenile hall, four others were charged with misdemeanor assault and battery, he said.
“They typically don’t take juveniles into custody for misdemeanors. They will go through the process out of custody,” Duncan said.
The mayor said the major suspects in the attack were arrested.
“They think they have the people they are looking for,” he said. “Not to say that there might not be a few others out there. They feel pretty confident that they have the main perpetrators.”
Orange County deputies used the video to find and arrest the suspect, matching those images with school records.
“They had some videotape that wasn’t readily available to the public that had a lot better images of the individuals involved,” Duncan said.
The mayor said everything gets recorded these days.
“In today’s age, you’re going to get caught — people are going to record it,” he said. “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.”
#BREAKING: Nine teenagers have been arrested for the brutal beating of three Marines in San Clemente.
https://t.co/BMX2OhZSL6
— KCAL News (@kcalnews) May 31, 2023
Duncan had earlier bristled at the incident.
“The barbaric assault on off-duty Marines at the San Clemente Pier goes against everything we stand for in San Clemente, and it’s no excuse that teenagers were involved,” the mayor said, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“The fact that this incident occurred over Memorial Day weekend is particularly tragic,” he said.
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