Police released surveillance footage Wednesday of the attack, which happened around 1 a.m. July 14 outside the Washington Hilton hotel on the 1900 block of Connecticut Avenue Northwest. Authorities told The Washington Post they were searching for as many as 10 teenagers as young as 13 years old who are suspected of being involved in the attack.
In the video, two men can be seen walking toward the doors of the hotel when they're approached by a teenager. One of the men appears to speak to the teen before the teen punches the man.
The uninjured man can be seen backing into the hotel's revolving doors as a group of more than a dozen teens, both male and female, descend on the victim, knocking him to the ground and repeatedly punching and kicking him.
At one point, the man who arrived at the hotel with the victim appears to try to intervene. Police told the Post he was also injured in the assault.
The group disperses about 30 seconds after the attack began.
The circumstances leading to the assault were not immediately clear.
In an incident report obtained by WBAL-TV, authorities said a witness told police one of the teenagers yelled, "That's him," just before the attack. Metropolitan police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck told the Post that as of Friday, authorities had no evidence to suggest the teens and the victim had any interactions before the assault.
WBAL-TV reported the assault might have been a case of mistaken identity, though Sternbeck told the Post that police were still investigating a possible motive for the attack.
"We only have one side of the story," he said.
Both men injured in the July 14 attack suffered injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening, police said.
Authorities continue to investigate.
About the Author