WACO, Texas — Police have named a suspect and issued an arrest warrant after a violent viral video with nearly four million views created a social media firestorm in Waco.
Waco Police Sgt. Patrick Swanton has identified the suspect as Jamarion Reese and said the warrant is for a Class "A" Assault. Swanton said the investigation determined that this was a case of dating violence and that Reese and the victim have been in a relationship for the past two years.
The video, which was reportedly recorded in March, appears to show a young woman pranking her boyfriend by pretending to break up with him.
The video showed he responded by throwing at least 21 punches at her and walking away.
A person off camera told the boy to "chill."
"Don't clown me then, bro," he said in response.
**WARNING: This video is disturbing and the social media post contains graphic language.**
Waco police said multiple people sent them the video, and they started investigating last week.
"Potentially an aggravated assault depending on her injuries," Swanton said at the time. "Quite honestly, it's pretty damning evidence. I mean there is not much of a way you can get away from saying it didn't occur."
In a Facebook post on April 1, Swanton said: “We are aware of a video depicting a very violent assault that allegedly occurred in our city. As of last week, we opened an active and on-going investigation into the case. It is good to know that many in our community will not accept this type of violent assaultive behavior against women. Thank you to those that brought the matter to our attention."
KCEN Channel 6 reached out to Waco Independent School District, and it said the girl in the video is not one of its students. The district also said they couldn't confirm if the boy attends one of its schools.
If you or you suspect someone you know is experiencing domestic violence you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
You can also visit domesticshelters.org to find help in the Central Texas area.
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