Two Marines were beaten by a group of teenagers and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Monday was searching for the attackers.
The melee began about 9:15 p.m. Friday near the pier located at the end of Avenida del Mar, and OCSD deputies responded to the site, according to sheriff’s spokesman Mike Woodroof.
The pair of marines were treated at the scene for minor injuries to their hands, knees, abdomens and heads, but they refused to go to a hospital, Woodroof said.
It’s unclear how many people attacked the two men, but Woodroof said the number was likely somewhere between 10 and 30.
A minute-long video which has circulated online captured the brawl. In the video the Marines are seen on the ground trying to shield themselves from the attack.
One of the Marines told CBS Los Angeles that the crowd was setting off firecrackers and, when some debris hit him the face, he asked the group to move on.
One of the teens then took a swing at the back of the victim’s head, and the Marine turned around and charged at his attacker, which set off the crowd, he told the station.
The group then circled the two Marines and begin punching and kicking them, using racial slurs and curse words, he said.
A neighbor recorded the incident, the station reported.
The brawl appears to come to an end after two individuals, a man and a woman, step in, telling the group to stop, the station reported.
Woodroof said the investigation was ongoing, and the attackers could face charges that include assault with a deadly weapon and/or assault and battery.
Anyone with information regarding the incident, was asked to call San Clemente Police at 949-770-6011.