A “teen takeover” turned into a violent brawl inside a Washington, D.C., restaurant, according to a widely circulated video shared online just days after federal prosecutors announced they would charge the parents of miscreants involved in similar public disturbances.
A crowd of teenagers descended on a Chipotle restaurant in Washington’s Navy Yard over the weekend and, at one point, began throwing punches and furniture, according to the Verge. Dissonance videos subscriber By witnesses.
People could be heard screaming in the background as the young men jumped over each other, randomly throwing punches and even using an abandoned high chair as a makeshift sledgehammer.
One teen ran after another and hit him in the head with a high chair while a little girl cowered sideways in her father’s arms, according to witness videos shared online.
Some of the teens backed away as chairs started flying across the restaurant.
The fighters largely concealed their faces with medical masks, and were all wearing similar black clothing.
While the boys were wreaking havoc, a group of girls were watching outside the restaurant. The footage showed that some screamed when the boys started using the furniture as weapons, while others laughed with great joy.
“Oh my god, bro, damn it!” One girl giggled.
Then flashing police lights and sirens were reflected in the chain window.
“Police! Oh, we have to go!” The same girl screamed as she took off on foot.
It is not clear whether any of the brawlers were arrested or the exact date of the fight.
On Friday, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, announced that her office would intervene and prosecute parents of minors involved in increasingly frequent “teen takeovers,” specifically citing similar cases of chaos in the city’s Navy Yard neighborhood.
“We will charge them, and if you turn your child in and fail to supervise them or allow them to leave school to join the mayhem, you will face fines, court-ordered suspensions and possible jail time,” Pirro said.
Parents can face up to six months in prison on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to Pirro.
“This sends a clear message to parents that you must supervise your children or face criminal consequences,” she added.
Community leaders and residents alike are skeptical about the potential for “federal overreach.” He told WJLA Such penalties should be dealt with at the local level.
“Policing and putting people in jail is actually kind of how we got where we are now. There’s no one home because they’ve been locked up and thrown in jail. We’re not going to police our way out of this,” Nick Wilson, advisory neighborhood commissioner for part of the Navy Yard, told the site.
Despite public skepticism, Perot said her office will begin charging parents over the weekend.
Cops began enforcing a “juvenile curfew zone” at Navy Square in early April in an attempt to curb crowds of unruly youth. However, several protests have erupted since then, including a few days after the curfew was imposed, during which four teenagers were arrested.