About 30 California teenagers swarmed, then savagely stomped on and punched three off-duty Marines on the Memorial Day weekend..Their rage was allegedly triggered when one Marine “politely” asked them to leave after being hit in face by debris from fireworks the “obnoxious” pack was setting off at San Clemente Pier, 95 km south of Los Angeles..Five teens, including at least one girl, were arrested and face felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon, the Orange County Sheriff's Department said in a news release..All five were booked into Orange County Juvenile Hall. .Four other teens face misdemeanor and assault charges..The brutal attack captured on cellphone videos has gone viral..Two Marines are curled up on the ground in a fetal position to protect themselves from raining kicks and punches on their heads and upper bodies..One male youth is seen trying to push his way through that wall of teens to get at the Marines..There is no video of events leading up to the assault..Hunter Antonio, who said he believes he suffered a concussion, told KCAL-TV news he was one of the Marines involved..The trio was hanging out at the pier when about 30 teenagers arrived and started lighting fireworks. .Debris hit him in the face..“They were lighting off fireworks, they were being belligerent, they were being obnoxious and annoying other people, so I went up to them and told them to stop,” he said. .The pack followed him to the pier where all hell broke loose..Video captured a male youth punching a man in the back of the head. The man turns around and charges. .Teens surround him screaming obscenities including “get that f**k.” .It isn’t known how long the attack lasted before being broken up by a man and a woman who intervened..The Marines, who suffered minor to moderate injuries to their hands, knees, and the possible concussion were treated on the scene but declined to go to hospital..“This is considered an assault with a deadly weapon because of the amount of suspects we are investigating,” Sgt. Frank Gonzalez of the Orange County Sheriff's Department told local media..“The weapons that were used were their feet while these victims were on the ground.”.“So regardless if the victims choose prosecution or choose medical attention, the sheriff's department is going to investigate this to the fullest and try to determine who the suspects are.”.Police won’t stop the investigation until “all individuals responsible are identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”.“The fact that this incident occurred over Memorial Day weekend is particularly tragic,” said San Clemente Mayor Chris Duncan..“The barbaric assault on off-duty Marines at the San Clemente Pier goes against everything we stand for in San Clemente, and it’s no excuse that teenagers were involved.” .“I want to assure our community, especially our military and veteran community, that we take this matter with the utmost seriousness and will not tolerate this kind of behaviour in our city.”
