A shocking video captured a security guard tasing a man directly in the face outside a World Cup viewing party in San Diego, California.
David Marquez, 42, was arrested on felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon and assault with a stun gun, which fires metal darts that hook into the skin to immobilize suspects.
In the video, a shirtless man in flip-flops approached security guards standing behind a chest-high partition outside of Park 101, a popular restaurant and bar in Carlsbad Village.
A crowd had gathered inside the sprawling venue to watch the June 24 match between Czechia and Mexico.
Suddenly, the guard deployed the taser inches from the man’s face, instantly causing him to collapse.
In the disturbing June 25 footage, the injured man writhed on the ground while holding his head in his hands. He tried to crawl away before a few bystanders stepped in to help him.
Meanwhile, another security guard threw up his hands as if to say, “What can you do?” while Marquez looked on, seemingly unbothered.
The Instagram user who posted the video, “Tann.da.man,” replaced the original audio with music, so it’s unclear what prompted the physical altercation.
Witnesses reportedly flagged down nearby officers who watched the video of the alleged assault and arrested Marquez.
After the Carlsbad Fire Department arrived on the scene, the injured man, who remains unidentified, was transported to a hospital for treatment.
Local news outlet SanDiegoVille obtained a video of another incident earlier that day, according to which the same security guard struck a man several times while booting that person out of the venue.
Park 101 issued a statement to the outlet, calling the incident “deeply disturbing.”
The company had amped up security through a third-party vendor for the busy World Cup matches. “That makes what occurred even more difficult to process, as it is the exact opposite of why those personnel were brought in,” they said. “The individual involved is no longer working at our property, and we are terminating our relationship with that security vendor.”
While police investigate a motive, social media users have been expressing total shock and outrage online. “What threat did the security guard possibly detect from a shirtless child. He shot the taser like he’s playing GTA,” wrote one person on Threads, “I hope that young man recovers fully and sues.”
Another commenter wrote, “Imagine the man who has no problem shooting another man in the face like that. Imagine the thought process. The bully attitude. He could have taken that shot wherever on the body.”
