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Brutal beating outside U Street shop caught on camera
D.C. police are investigating a brutal beating outside of a U Street stop, which was caught on camera and has gone viral on social media.
WASHINGTON - D.C. police are investigating a brutal beating outside of a U Street stop, which was caught on camera and has gone viral on social media.
The videos were posted on the social media platform "X", formerly Twitter, on Saturday and have gained more than 500,000 views as of this writing.
In the videos, a group of people are seen in fight with at least one person. FOX 5 shared these videos with D.C. police, who confirmed an investigation was ongoing.
According to the police report, the incident was reported around 4 a.m. Saturday in the area of 10th and U Streets, NW. The victim was "bleeding severely from the face," according to the police report. It also states officers were able to watch camera footage of the incident, which showed the victim being assaulted by multiple people.
"Officers voiced a lookout from the video footage, and shortly after officers observed [suspect] in the 900 block of U Street NW," the report states.
The suspect was identified Monday by authorities as 21-year-old Marcus Newman, Jr. of southeast D.C. Newman has been charged with simple assault, police said.
In the videos, it shows the incident happening outside of America’s Best Wingstop on U Street.
A store employee did not want to be interviewed on camera Monday but told FOX 5 that the group was causing some kind of disturbance in the store earlier and employees intervened, which is when he said the incident turned violent.
Gene Barnett works at a bar along U Street and has seen the videos circulating online. Barnett has worked on U Street for about 12 years and said he has noticed changes over the past decade.
"It’s more like, you know…like younger people coming out on the streets, and things like that," Barnett said. "I would say keep your head on a swivel, you know. Basically, you got to be very careful what you say to people and especially if it’s people drinking out on U Street and partying. You got a lot of people that could be amped up from alcohol in their system. So, keep your wits about that. There are people who are drinking, and there could be young people who are out here as well who don’t know how to handle their liquor."
Another man said he'd seen the videos, as well.
"I feel like it’s crazy, you know?" he said. "I don’t know what happened personally, but for something like that to happen out here is amazing. They’re out here sword fighting and whatnot, that’s crazy like that."
A woman FOX 5 spoke with works in the area and called the incident disheartening, after watching the video for the first time.
"My message would be to just try and live in unity with each other. We’re all here. We’re in one city. Why not live and work together? Just try to be peaceful with each other. It just seems like the younger generation is getting out of control here in the city," she said.
The case remains under investigation by D.C. police.