A “teen takeover” dissolved into a violent brawl inside a Washington, DC restaurant, according to a viral video shared online mere days after federal prosecutors announced they would be charging parents of the miscreants involved in similar public disruptions.
A mob of teenagers descended onto a Chipotle in Washington’s Navy Yard over the weekend and, at some point, started throwing punches — and furniture, according to jarring videos shared by witnesses.
People could be heard screaming in the background as the youths vaulted on top of one another, throwing punches at random and even using an abandoned highchair as a makeshift sledgehammer.
One teen ran up behind another and hit him over the head with the highchair while a little girl cowered off to the side in her father’s arms, according to witness videos shared online.
Some of the teenagers retreated when chairs started flying across the eatery.
The combatants largely concealed their faces with medical masks, and all wore similar all-black outfits.
While the boys wreaked havoc, a gaggle of girls watched outside the restaurant. Some shrieked when the boys started using furniture as weapons, while others laughed in apparent glee, the footage shows.
“Oh my f–king God, bro, damn!” one girl cackled.
Then, flashing police lights and sirens reflected in the chain’s window.
“The police! Oh, we gotta go!” the same girl screeched while taking off on foot.
It’s unclear if any of the brawlers were arrested or the exact date of the fight.
On Friday, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced that her office will step in and prosecute parents of minors involved in the increasingly frequent “teen takeovers,” specifically citing similar instances of chaos in the city’s Navy Yard neighborhood.
“We’re going to charge them, and if you drop your kid off and you fail to supervise them or you let them skip school to join the chaos, you are going to face fines, court-ordered classes and possible jail time,” Pirro said.
Parents could face up to six months in jail on a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to Pirro.
“This sends a clear message to the parents that you must supervise your kids or face criminal consequences,” she added.
Community leaders and residents alike are dubious about possible “federal overreach,” telling WJLA that such punishments should be handled at a local level.
“Policing and putting people in jail is actually kind of how we got to where we’re at now. There’s no one at home because they got locked up and thrown in jail. We’re not going to police our way out of this situation,” Nic Wilson, an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for part of the Navy Yard, told the outlet.
Despite the public’s skepticism, Pirro said her office would begin charging parents over the weekend.
Cops began imposing a “Juvenile Curfew Zone” for the Navy Yard in early April in an attempt to curb the rowdy mobs of youths. Even so, several have broken out since, including one mere days after the curfew was enacted,where four teens were arrested.
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