VIDEO: Suspect accused of brutal assault caught on camera outside DC store

WASHINGTON – D.C. police are investigating a brutal assault outside a U Street stop that was caught on camera and went viral on social media.

The videos were posted on the social media platform “X”, formerly Twitter, on Saturday and have been viewed more than 500,000 times at the time of writing.

The videos show a group of people fighting with at least one person. FOX 5 shared these videos with DC police, who confirmed an investigation was underway.

According to the police report, the incident was reported around 4 a.m. Saturday in the area of ​​10th and U Streets, NW. According to the police report, the victim was “bleeding profusely from the face.” It also states that officers were able to view CCTV footage of the incident, which showed the victim being attacked by several people.

“Officers conducted a lookout based on the video footage, and shortly thereafter, officers observed (suspect) in the 900 block of U Street NW,” the report said.

The suspect was identified by authorities on Monday as 21-year-old Marcus Newman, Jr. from southeast DC. Newman has been charged with simple assault, police said.

The videos show the incident outside America’s Best Wingstop on U Street.

A store employee did not want to be interviewed on camera Monday, but told FOX 5 the group had previously caused some disturbance in the store and employees intervened, at which point he said the incident turned violent.

Gene Barnett works at a bar on U Street and has seen the videos circulating online. Barnett has worked on U Street for about 12 years and said he has noticed changes over the past decade.

“It’s more, you know… like younger people taking to the streets and things like that,” Barnett said. “I’d say keep your head on a swivel, you know. Basically, you have to be very careful what you say to people, and especially if they’re people drinking and partying on U Street. You’ve got a lot of people who can be amplified Keep So take that into account. There are people who drink, and there may also be young people here who don’t know how to handle their drinks.’

Another man said he had also seen the videos.

“I feel like it’s crazy, you know?” he said. ‘I don’t personally know what happened, but for something like this to happen here is amazing. They’re out here sword fighting and stuff, that’s so crazy.’

A woman working in the area spoke to FOX 5 and called the incident disheartening after watching the video for the first time.

“My message would be to just try to live in unity with each other. We are all here. We are in one city. Why not live and work together? Just try to live peacefully with each other. It just seems like the The younger generation is out of control here in the city,” she said.

The case remains under investigation by DC police.