Man in viral McDonald’s beating video: ‘I wasn’t going there to provoke a bunch of kids’

DANIA BEACH, Fla. — The man at the center of a viral video in which he appeared to be jumped by a group of teenagers is speaking about the incident.

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It was on Aug. 21 when Moses Mercea was filmed fighting back against a group of teens outside a Dania Beach McDonald’s.

The principal of nearby Olsen Middle School said the fight took place after school and off campus, and that the school was cooperating with law enforcement.

Deputies with the Broward Sheriff’s Office said when they arrived on scene, the man was gone.

Last week, Local 10 News’ Rosh Lowe caught up with Mercea in Hallandale Beach. He’s 45 years old and homeless.

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Lowe asked if there was anything racial that was said that spurred the attack.

“Not that I remember,” Mercea said. “Maybe I used twerps.”

He said it all began when he was cut off by a kid on a bike before he went inside the McDonald’s to get his food.

According to BSO, Moses started the incident by threatening the kids.

“I was really trying to just stay on my feet,” Mercea said. “Several times I wanted to run away, but I didn’t want to get tripped and get hit by a car, so I said let me just turn around and face these people.”

When asked what he said to the teens, Mercea said he yelled when he got cut off while walking but wasn’t trying to provoke a fight.

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“I wasn’t going there to provoke a bunch of kids,” he said.

Moses said he doesn’t want to press charges and just wants this to go away.