Two people have been arrested in the beating of a man seemingly sparked by a question about the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown, the St. Louis police said Monday night in a tweet.
The tweet said “2 suspects, ages 15 & 21, are in custody in connection with 3/23 MetroLink assault.”
The beating, which occurred on a MetroLink light rail train, was caught on surveillance cameras and a passenger’s cell phone camera. The passenger posted the video online, and it went viral.
The victim, 43, who is white, said he was commuting home when a young black man asked to use the victim’s cell phone.
He declined, and the young man asked his opinion about the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager killed by a police officer in nearby Ferguson, Missouri, last summer, the man said. That shooting raised questions nationwide about use of deadly force by police.
“The next thing I know, he sucker punches me right in the middle of my face,” the victim told CNN affiliate KMOV.
The video showed a male unleashing a barrage of punches at the head of the victim, who covered himself with his hand and forearms. Two other males joined in, police said. The attackers fled.
The man, who asked not to be identified, was treated at the scene for injuries and didn’t go to the hospital.