The mob of San Clemente, California teenagers who beat up three U.S. Marines on Memorial Day Weekend will be held accountable for the horrific attack, a law enforcement officer told Fox News on Tuesday.
Off-duty Marines were enjoying time at the beach Friday when they asked a group of teenagers to stop lighting off fireworks because they were being hit with debris. The Marines were then jumped and repeatedly stomped on by a mob of up to 40 people, according to a previous Fox News report. The city’s mayor has denounced the attack with "total disgust and shock."
"This isn't something that happens in San Clemente," Mayor Chris Duncan, D-Calif., told "America Reports" on Tuesday. "We're a very safe city. We’re a military town. It's especially tragic that we have this attack happening over Memorial Day Weekend because we support our troops. We especially support our Marines and we're going to take swift action to make sure this never happens again.
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Orange County Sgt. Mike Woodroof assures Americans "investigators are looking into the circumstances around the incident" and the attackers will be brought to justice.
"Regardless, if they're adults or juveniles, they will be held accountable to the law regarding this scenario," Woodroof said. "An assault with a deadly weapon, anybody that kicks another human being in the head to cause damage, internal injury to that magnitude will be arrested for a felony assault deadly weapon.
Woodroof says the first steps in the investigation will be to identify those suspected of attacking the Marines and take them into custody.
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"The main video that I'm aware of that has been released from the one that you're showing right now to where the two Marines are being assaulted, is the key piece of evidence that captures that horrific moment that they endure for those few minutes," he explained.
"There is also a third Marine that was injured that was off a video, but regardless, there is multiple videos that, from what I've been told, have surveillance of that area and investigators are pursuing the identity of those suspects."
Fox News’ Jeff Paul contributed to this report.
