A vicious fight inside a Brooklyn, New York, McDonald’s fast food restaurant was caught on a horrifying cell phone video posted to YouTube Wednesday — a fight that ended with the merciless beating of a lone teen girl by four fellow teen girls. But the victim has not come forward to report the crime and no one in the crowd, seen cheering the attackers on, called police to report the mayhem.
Police say they are now investigating the Monday afternoon attack as an assault case, and they are trying to identify and locate the victim as well as the four attackers and any witnesses seen in the disturbing video, which can be viewed above. Be warned: the video is violent and disturbing.
The McDonald’s fast food joint on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn is located near the borough’s Erasmus High School, and is a popular hangout for teens on their way out of school.
According to police, despite the frightening nature of the assault, the victim did not go to a hospital though she suffered bruises to her head and a black eye.
Community leaders in the Brooklyn neighborhood are now calling on the victim, reported to be 15-years-old, to come forward and file a police complaint about the attack.
“We are asking that young lady to not be afraid,” said a local activist, Tony Herbert.
“Come forward. We will stand with her. We will go to the police. We need her and her family to step forward and press charges.”
The graphic video shows what first appears to be a one-sided fight with one girl, in a blue sweatshirt, fighting against four others — and a large crowd stands around and cheers them on.
At one point, it appears that one of the four girls lands a solid punch to the side of the victim’s head, staggering her. The 15-year-old soon ends up on the floor, where her four tormentors show her no mercy, kicking and punching at her as she is down.
A voice in the crowd can be heard declaring, “She’s dead, yo! It’s a murder!”
Fortunately, the girl was not dead, though the true extent of her injuries remains uncertain. But the violent video left members of the community shaking their heads.
“It bothers me that these kids are not living in unity with each other. You are trying to be together but it really worries me that this is going on in our community,” one neighborhood resident, Stephanie Greene, told New York’s ABC 7 News.
Police have stepped up patrols around the McDonald’s and reportedly dispersed a crowd of teens on Tuesday to prevent a reoccurrence of the beating incident seen in the video.
[Image: YouTube Screen Grab]