A Texas teenager is facing several charges for having punched a local police officer during a drunken brawl in the entertainment district area of the border city of McAllen, Texas. The assault sparked much outrage across the city, where politicians have called for changes to restaurants and bars in the downtown area in an attempt to stop underage drinking and violence.
The assault took place on Sunday shortly after 2 A.M. in downtown McAllen, when authorities responded to a commotion near the intersection of 17th Street and Beaumont. According to information provided to Breitbart Texas by McAllen police, when officers arrived, they found several men fighting, and responding officers began to separate them. It was during that struggle that 17-year-old Alexander Andree Flores allegedly struck a female officer who was trying to apprehend him.
McAllen Police investigators tracked down Flores and arrested him later that day. He has since been formally charged with one count of resisting arrest, one count of assault on a peace officer, and one count of evading arrest. A municipal court judge set his bonds at $250,000.
A series of videos shared on social media captured the moment where Flores strikes the officer, knocking her down, and then tries to run away. Other officers can be seen in the video trying to break up the fight while numerous individuals circled them and cheered on the fighting.
The video went viral in South Texas, sparking outrage from numerous community members. McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos took to social media to condemn the assault and claimed that changes would be made. Since then, Villalobos has stated that he, along with city commissioners, would be looking at ways to restrict the presence of teenagers in the city’s entertainment district.
In McAllen, the downtown area near 17th Street is home to numerous bars and nightclubs. In recent years, the area has become a magnet for violent fistfights and assaults.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].
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