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McDonald's attack suspects face hate crime charges

By the CNN Wire Staff
Teonna Brown is charged with one count of first-degree assault, three counts of second-degree assault and a hate crime in an incident at a McDonald's in Maryland.
Teonna Brown is charged with one count of first-degree assault, three counts of second-degree assault and a hate crime in an incident at a McDonald's in Maryland.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • An attorney for the adult suspect says his client maintains her innocence
  • The attack was caught on videotape by a McDonald's employee
  • A transgender woman was allegedly beaten outside a bathroom by two female suspects
  • One of the women was charged as a juvenile
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(CNN) -- Two female suspects are facing hate crime charges in the case of an attack on a transgender woman at a Maryland McDonald's last month, the office of the State's Attorney for Baltimore County said Monday.

The brutal attack was caught on videotape by one of the restaurant's employees. It went viral on the Internet last month.

The video shows two women kicking, punching and dragging another woman across the floor of the Baltimore restaurant. A store employee and a patron try to intervene, with limited success.

Someone off-camera is heard laughing, another yells "Stop!" several times during the attack and at one point, a voice can be heard telling the suspects, "Y'all need to go before the police come."

The video ends with the alleged victim -- Chrissy Lee Polis -- shaking uncontrollably on the floor.

Authorities have said the attack took place on April 18 at a McDonald's in Rosedale, on the outskirts of Baltimore.

A grand jury indictment charged Teonna Brown with one count of first-degree assault, three counts of second-degree assault and a hate crime, according to the state's attorney's office. A juvenile suspect faces identical charges, it said.

Both women are currently in custody and no other individuals will be charged.

Brown's attorney, Timothy Knepp, said his client maintains her innocence.

"Anything that happened to her in that restaurant was in self-defense," he said. "She (Brown) is not the woman that popular news is making her out to be."

The motive for the attack was not immediately clear, though one of the suspects is cited in a police report as saying the fight was "over using the bathroom."

The victim's mother, Renee Carr, told a producer for HLN's "Dr. Drew" that her daughter was devastated by the ordeal.

"She's humiliated. They thought it was hilarious. The reason they did this is because she's an outcast, she doesn't fit in," Carr said. "All my daughter wanted to do was use the bathroom."

McDonald's released a statement condemning the attack soon after it happened. The company said the worker responsible for the video was no longer employed at McDonald's and that "appropriate action regarding other employees will take place as warranted."

"We want to reassure our customers that your neighborhood McDonald's is a safe, welcoming place for everyone. We share our customers' concern. We are doing everything possible to make sure the right thing is done," McDonald's said.