A brawl broke out at a Chick-Fil-A in Northwest Washington, DC when an angry customer attacked an employee who proceeded to savagely beat him down in front of a crowd of horrified customers.

The customer - who was caught on camera throwing the first punch - was arrested and charged with simple assault. The Chick-Fil-A employee wasn't charged with a crime, but was fired by Chick-Fil-A. The incident unfolded at a restaurant in on Wisconsin Avenue in the Tenleytown neighborhood, according to Fox.

According to the police report, the 55-year-old customer was shouting at customers and causing a scene at the restaurant before he went behind the counter and threw a punch at a 27-year-old employee who had asked him to leave. The video shows the employee repeatedly punching the customer before the fight was broken up by other employees. The customer was then taken to a hospital and treated for minor injuries.

In a statement, Chick-Fil-A apologized for the incident, adding that it urges employees to treat all customers with "dignity and respect." The company added that it has launched an investigation of the situation.

"There is a viral video circulating of an altercation that took place Sept. 4 between a restaurant team member and an individual in a franchised restaurant outside of Washington, DC. This video is incredibly disturbing to watch, and we do not condone violence or the team member's response to the situation in any way. Our franchise restaurant Operators and their team members strive to create a safe and welcoming environment and to treat all guests with dignity and respect. This situation does not live up to our brand's commitment to hospitality, and for that, we are very sorry." "According to the franchise Operator, the team member involved in the altercation is no longer working in the restaurant. We are continuing to investigate this situation, including what happened before the video was taken and how it escalated so quickly."