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[UPDATE] NYPD Identifies Teens In Brutal McDonald's Brawl After Video Surfaces
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 12, 2015
Modified Mar 12, 2015
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Via NBC New York
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 12, 2015
Modified Mar 12, 2015
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[UPDATE BELOW] The NYPD is continuing to investigate a violent brawl at a McDonald's in Brooklyn this weekend that left one teen girl injured. In the video, you can hear bystanders declaring: "She’s dead... You murdered her."
The fight, which pitted one teen against four others, went down on Saturday at a McDonald's on Flatbush Avenue. The brawl was caught on video which surfaced on the Internet yesterday. Police say they have been able to identify the injured teen and one other involved in the fight, and that both are 16-year-old students at Erasmus High School.
Police believe the fight was part of an ongoing dispute between the teen and her attackers. "“(The victim) was there to fight,” a police source told the Daily News. “It looks like they went there to straighten out their differences and she wound up getting the worst of it.”
The injured teen was treated at a nearby hospital and released over the weekend, but the News reports she collapsed and was re-hospitalized on Wednesday. “She can’t sleep because she got kicked to the body,” her grandmother said. “She fell again and they had to take her to the hospital.”
The paper also posted an editorial decrying witnesses for failing to intervene, and those involved for being unwilling to talk.
"The beaten girl refuses to cooperate with the police. Her mother will not talk about the incident, either. Whether that is out of fear, or 'don’t snitch' culture, or some combination, it’s a damning indictment."
Though the owner of the McDonald's franchise says his employees contacted police, the NYPD says they never received a 911 call. A teenaged witness told NBC News that he "felt bad for the girl" but was afraid to get involved. Another witness told 1010 WINS that "[e]verybody was, like, enjoying what was happening."
No arrests have been made yet, and the Department of Education says counselors will be available to speak to students at Erasmus High School.
Update 3:14 p.m.: The NYPD reportedly has a 16-year-old girl in custody, though police tell us that there are still no arrests at this time. The Post reports that the teen, apparently seen in the video stomping on the victim's head, was picked up at her Prospect-Lefferts Gardens home and questioned this morning.
The victim, identified as 18 years old, has reportedly refused to cooperate with authorities, who are searching for "at least" five more individuals who allegedly participated in the fight. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams has offered a $1K reward for anyone who can help cops hunt down the suspects.
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