Fairfax middle school gang initiation posted on YouTube

A street gang-related beating in the stairwell of a Fairfax County middle school reportedly was videotaped by another student and posted on YouTube, where it apparently was viewed for about two months before being removed, according to a Fairfax police affidavit.

The incident occurred on January 19 at Carl Sandburg Middle School, in the Fort Hunt area of eastern Fairfax, according to an affidavit written by Officer Daryl G. Davis, the school resource officer there. The affidavit was filed Tuesday in Fairfax Circuit Court.

Davis alleged that a female student filmed two male students "recruiting" another boy into the Latin Homies street gang by "use of force."

Latino street gangs often require a new recruit to be "jumped in," which entails being beaten by existing gang members for a certain amount of time. For the notorious MS-13 gang, the "jump in" beating typically lasts 13 seconds.

Within days of the incident, a 17-second video of it was posted on YouTube under the title, "Video from my phone," Davis wrote. The video was removed sometime before March 24, according to Davis.

Davis's affidavit was filed to obtain a search warrant for a copy of the video from YouTube's corporate offices in Mountain View, Calif.

Fairfax police said the two boys inflicting the beating were charged with gang recruitment and gang participation and released to their parents' custody.

-- Tom Jackman