Teen Girl Arrested in Brutal Brooklyn McDonald's Brawl: NYPD

A 16-year-old girl has been arrested in connection with a vicious brawl involving a group of girls inside a Brooklyn McDonald's earlier this week that sparked cries for action from community advocates who saw the brutality in a now viral video that had been posted online.

The teen was arrested Thursday, three days after the afternoon brawl at the McDonald's on Flatbush Avenue in Flatbush. Police allege Aniah Ferguson was the ringleader in the attack, and she was charged as an adult with robbery and gang assault. 

Ferguson said nothing to reporters as she was led from a police station Thursday. Attorney information wasn't immediately clear. 

Video of the attack, which was posted on Facebook, shows four girls, all believed to be Erasmus Hall High School students, repeatedly punching and kicking another teen wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt while throngs of bystanders shout in the background

The larger group continues to attack the teen in the blue sweatshirt, even pulling out her hair extensions, until the girl huddles underneath a table with her hands over her head. At one point, one of the girls in the group stomps on the victim's head.

At several points during the fight, bystanders can be heard saying, "She’s dead," and, "You murdered her."

The video ends with several students picking the girl up off the ground and putting her on a bench.

Police did not get a 911 call about the fight, and said that officers didn't learn about the fight until getting an unrelated call in the area. The FDNY said it received a call to the restaurant.

The girl in the blue hooded sweatshirt did not want to make a report or go to the hospital. She went to the hospital later with a Department of Education staff member who was called after the fight and was treated for bumps and bruises, the department said.

Police said the investigation had been hampered by a lack of cooperating witnesses; neither the apparent victim nor her mother will work with authorities, they said.

One boy who witnessed the attack told NBC 4 New York Wednesday he "felt bad for the girl," but was concerned about intervening.

"I didn't know what was going on and I was kind of scared, I'm not gonna lie," said the boy, who asked not to be identified.

The Department of Education called the actions seen in the video "abhorrent."

Paul Goodman, the Flatbush Avenue McDonald's franchisee, said his employees contacted the police as soon as the brawl erupted, though it wasn't clear if they tried 911 or a non-emergency line.

McDonald's has not responded to NBC 4 New York's inquiries.

Monday's fight wasn't the first teenage brawl caught on video in recent days. Several male students attacked each other with bats and brass knuckles over the weekend on Long Island amid ongoing racial tensions between students at Connetqout High School in Bohemia. 

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