Arrest made after brawl caught on camera at Brooklyn McDonald's

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- Police have taken a 16-year-old girl into custody in connection with a violent fight caught on camera inside a Brooklyn McDonald's.

The cell phone video, posted on YouTube, shows a group of young women attacking another young girl. The owner of the video has said that they will continue to work with police.

According to the New York City Police Department, the teen now in custody is the main participant.

A warning: The video is disturbing.

It seems to start as a fight between two girls in the video suddenly turned ugly. A gang of girls punched and kicked the one girl, and the fight escalated into a free-for-all.

Community activist Tony Herbert, who said the disturbing video was shot inside the McDonald's on Flatbush Avenue, is deeply concerned. "It was still a gang assault," said Herbert. "And those kids that committed this crime have to know there are penalties behind these kind of things."

Most disturbing, is that the fight continues for several more minutes and the lone victim is being pummeled and kicked in the head after she is knocked to the ground. No one comes to her defense.

"They are cowards for not speaking up. I think they are real cowards," said area resident Donia Ainsley.

"They feel like they have to resort to violence to get a point across. The culture we live in today is sad," said another resident, Kevin Davis.

No one has come forward to report the brutal beating, but police clearly were not going to let it happen again.

As throngs of teenagers from nearby Erasmus Hall High School tried to congregate at the McDonald's, they were encouraged to move on. "It happened on the spur of the moment," said Herbert. "They were on top of it, but at the end of the day they are investigating it and we're hoping to get somebody apprehended very soon."

But others believe the community should be outraged over the violent nature of the fight. "It bothers me that these kids are not living in unity with each other. You are trying to be together but it really worries me that this is going on in our community," said area resident Stephanie Greene.

Others are encouraging the victim and her parents to come forward and don't believe that will happen.

Paul Goodman, the McDonald's franchisee, released a statement: "The safety of my employees and customers is my top priority. In keeping with my restaurant policy, my employees contacted the police at the onset of this situation. As part of the Flatbush community, I will continue to work with the NYPD and community leaders to ensure the safety of customers. Since this is now a under police investigation it would be inappropriate for me to comment further."