WASHINGTON (7News) — As local and federal law enforcement work to find out who was responsible for the fight inside a D.C. Chipotle over the weekend, 7News spoke with a father who was inside the restaurant with his kids when it happened.
Video taken during the brawl shows a man in a red shirt trying to protect his children — that man is Rafael Jauregui.
Jauregui said he had taken his seven kids to the Nationals-Orioles game Saturday, then bought them dinner at the Chipotle. The five youngest kids, ranging in age from a four-year-old girl to a 14-year old boy, were with Jauregui in the restaurant when he said the fight broke out.
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“At that point, I tell the children, ‘get with me, get up, let’s start backing up,'” he said. “And then it was like an ambush. They looked like ninjas, dressed in black, with ski masks, and they just piled into the main eatery.”
Jauregui said he and the kids were backed into a corner. As an Air Force veteran, he said his military training kicked in and he looked to see if any of the teens were armed with guns or knives, but didn’t see any.
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7News spoke with a man on May 18, 2026, who was inside a D.C. chipotle when a teen fight broke out. (7News)
Instead, they lifted high chairs and other chairs and smashed them over each other while fighting. Jauregui said he decided to protect the space around his kids, and not to allow any of the fighting teens to get too close.
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He said he’s proud that his two sons who were with him shielded their three younger sisters, but at the same time, his kids never should have had to witness what happened.
“My son said on the way home, ‘Papa, I can’t unsee that,'” he said. “Those individuals have now directly impacted my security, my life. My children are now talking about [how they never] want to go to Chipotle again. Or at least not that one.”
Jauregui said he supports U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s plan to crack down on teen violence in the District and charge parents in some cases.
“[I’m] in line with what the U.S. Attorney is trying to do, saying hey listen, this is not just teenagers messing around, this is next level. Where a dad can’t bring their kids to a Nats game and grab a bite after,” he said.
