A brutal fight on a moving Metro train has gone viral. It happened on a southbound Green Line train over the weekend and the incident was captured by cell phone.
There are a couple versions of the video circling social media. They have been shared tens of thousands of times with people marveling at the brutality of the fight. The video posted is now part of an ongoing investigation by Metro Transit Police.
(WARNING: This video may be difficult to watch for some people. Viewer discretion is advised.)
It was 1 a.m. Sunday when two teenagers were coming home from a party on the train. The fun quickly ended when words were exchanged with a 54-year-old man who became violent.
In one clip posted to Twitter, you can see the 54-year-old man approach some teenagers and start slapping them. A man identified by his family as 46-year-old Anthony Thomas Jr. can be seen sitting while this is happening.
Another video shows Thomas being repeatedly punched by the 54-year-old man. Thomas' family believes he stepped in to help the teenagers and then took the brunt of the attack himself.
The incident goes on for several minutes, and at one point, Thomas takes a punch that knocks him all the way to the floor.
The victim's mother said her son now has a broken jaw and cracked ribs.
She burst into tears when she saw the video and she said it is not something she can watch at all.
"It's terrifying," Thomas' mother told FOX 5. "It's my child. I just want them to see how bad he was beaten. That's what I want."
We asked her how she felt about it happening on Metro.
"I didn't like it because there was nobody there to rescue him, nobody helped him and I'm very upset," she said. "But I guess it's really not their fault because stuff happens."
A teenager who was on the Metro train told us, "When he said, 'I'm going to shoot you in the face,' then I was like, 'Whoa, I didn't know if he had a gun or not.'"
He said the man got angry after telling the boys to take their feet off a glass partition.
"I got up and I was like, 'You could have just asked us nicely,'" said the teenager. "All that other stuff, it was unnecessary. I would have been okay. [The 54-year-old man] and the [other teenager] started arguing, so I just stood back and just let them argue."
Millie Holmes' 16-year-old son was also seen in the video getting slapped by the 54-year-old man.
"My soul just died," she said. "I know I'm probably being dramatic, but I just was like, 'Oh my God.'"
Metro said they identified Thomas and the 54-year-old at the Southern Avenue Metro station following the incident.
Right now, the victim and his family do not want to press charges. But Millie Holmes plans on doing so after seeing the degree of violence displayed on that train.
"We're just pretty lucky I believe," said Holmes. "Not as lucky as the gentleman, which we would love to thank and just give him a hug or go visit. We don't know who he is, but we would really like to do that."
Metro Transit Police said they were contacted by parents of the juveniles seen on the video who reported the assault, but the two teenagers were not seriously hurt during the fight.
Metro Transit Police are still investigating the incident.
They said if riders see a fight break out on a train, you can press the emergency intercom button for help, call 911 or text a tip to MyMTPD.