Police are investigating the violent beating of a man by a group of juveniles that was caught on video in the Carthay neighborhood of Los Angeles over the weekend.
The incident was reported around 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of San Vicente Boulevard and McCarthy Vista when, for unknown reasons, a driver became involved in a dispute with some minors.
The dispute escalated, and the group confronted the man, which led to a physical altercation, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson said on Monday.
Video of the incident posted on Instagram and shared with KTLA showed a mob of roughly 10 juveniles punching and kicking the motorist as others arrived on bicycles to join in.
The person who shared the video was traveling in a Lyft and got out with the driver, who was described as “ex-military,” to see if they could help the motorist.
“Fortunately, the thugs got back on their bikes after leaving the victim with head trauma and multiple lacerations to the face,” the post read.
A witness, Tyler Johnson, said the driver had stepped out of his car to confront the large group of bicyclists blocking the street. At one point, he saw one of the juveniles on top of the man’s car and kicking the windshield.
Police have not confirmed those but said that the victim’s injuries were not serious and that a battery and vandalism report was taken.
Saturday’s incident is not the first involving a large group of minors on bikes blocking a street in L.A.
In January, a driver was seen accelerating on the wrong side of a street near Olympic Boulevard and South Rimpau Boulevard in the nearby Mid-Wilshire neighborhood to get around dozens of bicyclists who made legal passing impossible.
That driver’s car was apparently vandalized a short time later in a parking garage.
It was unclear if some of the same bicyclists may have been involved in both incidents, which remain under investigation.
