DC public schools resists Pirro request to help ID teens in Chipotle melee, amid 'teen takeovers'

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has asked the D.C. Public Schools for information she says will help identify the teens who were involved in an altercation Saturday inside a Chipotle restaurant in the D.C. neighborhood of Navy Yard.

Video from the incident shows teens throwing furniture while customers took cover. One person involved in the fight hit someone in the head with a highchair. 

Police released surveillance images of four suspects they have not yet identified, according to NBC4 Washington. 

Pirro has vowed to not only find the suspects, but to also hold parents responsible.

“We are looking beyond the individuals who are committing the crimes irrespective of how old they are, and we’re looking at the parents to make sure that they understand that they are responsible for the upheaval that is going on in this District and impacting everyone who lives here,” said Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

Her office asked DCPS for attendance records, writing: “Starting now, parents, you’re paying the bill, and if you know where your teen is and what your teen is doing and you allow them to continue their conduct and continue to allow them to flourish, then we’re going to prosecute you,” Pirro said.

DCPS said it will only release the records if required by a judge, according to NBC 4

“We want the District’s families to be assured that we take our responsibility to protect student data seriously and will only share education records when required by a lawful court order,” a DCPS spokesperson said in a statement.

The standoff comes amid a problem in the nation's capital known as "teen takeovers" in which juveniles, typically after dark, engage in criminal behavior including fighting and vandalizing businesses. 

City lawmakers continue to disagree on whether a curfew is an effective and constitutionally appropriate response. Pirro is considering prosecuting parents whose children participate in the takeovers.