Columbia Police have arrested a second Benedict College student and are looking for a third connection to the weekend beating in Five Points that was caught on video.
John Cornelius Sumner, 21, was charged with second-degree assault after Benedict College police found him in an apartment on campus.
He joins 21-year-old Stanley Jamar McBride in Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in the incident. The two, along with fellow student Michael Jermel Kendrix, 21, are suspected of beating a man in the 700 block of Harden Street near Pop’s N.Y. Pizza and Bey’s bar early Sunday morning. Kendrix is still at large.
Witnesses told police that the man walked out of one of those establishments when the group of about 10 men attacked him.
The group pushed the victim against a door and punched him until he fell, according to the incident report. Once he was on the ground, one or two of the attackers continued to kick him in the head and chest. All of the attackers ran away just before police arrived, the report said.
The victim had severe cuts and extreme swelling on his face and possible damage to his skull, the report said. He was taken to Palmetto Health Richland.
A video of a portion of the fight surfaced on social media sites in recent days, sparking public outcry against violence in Five Points and inflaming racial tensions.
From staff reports
