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A dozen teenagers were arrested and accused of beating a man and engaging in a shootout outside a Cleveland gas station early Tuesday, an attack that city and county officials said encapsulates a wave of crime and violence that has taxed police departments across the country.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and city Police Chief Wayne Drummond released video of the incident at a Wednesday news conference. The attack on the victim, 34, appears to be entirely random.

The lack of security measures in some Hyundais and Kias and the state legislature’s weakening of gun laws have made it easier than ever for people to get their hands on guns and steal cars, officials said. That combination, O’Malley said, allows criminals to “wreak havoc” on communities.

“People in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County deserve safe neighborhoods where they can walk to a store, walk to a local restaurant or simply fill their cars with gas,” O’Malley said.

Drummond called the attack “animalistic.”

“I know a lot of people will probably say, ‘I can’t believe the chief said that,’ " Drummond said. “But look at that video. To attack the man who was doing absolutely nothing is animalistic behavior. We will not accept that type of behavior.”

Bibb called the attack unconscionable and immoral.

“If you’re a juvenile and want to act in criminal behavior like an adult, we will hold you accountable,” he said.

Officers arrested the youths hours later after a resident called police to report a group of kids hanging out at an abandoned house.

Of the twelve teenagers charged, 11 are being held in the county’s juvenile detention center. They face charges ranging from receiving stolen property to felonious assault and aggravated rioting.

The youngest of the group, a 12-year-old girl, is charged with receiving stolen property, but she did not participate in the violence.

Four of the teenagers had pending cases in Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court. Three of them were previously arrested in stolen cars. The fourth was charged with improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle, all low-level offenses.

Another four had previous convictions for similar offenses.

O’Malley pointed out that the county’s juvenile detention center is holding 160 youths, mostly charged with high-level offenses of violence including murder, attempted murder, shootings and aggravated robberies. The facility likely does not have enough staff to be able to hold any more juveniles.

“I think everyone in the criminal justice system in Cuyahoga County is trying to do the best they can,” O’Malley said.

The attack came about 12:40 a.m. Tuesday at the Shell station at East 140th Street and St. Clair Avenue. More than a dozen teens showed up in three stolen cars -- all either Hyundais or Kias -- that were taken from the Tremont and University Circle neighborhoods, the officials said.

A few members of the group walked up to a 34-year-old man sitting outside the station and began throwing punches, the video showed. One of the teens, who has not been identified, pulled an AR-15-style rifle out of his pants and laid it on the ground before he joined the attack, the video showed.

Another teen picked up the gun and thrusted its butt into the man’s head, the video showed. Once the beating ended, the man went inside the store. The teens, however, remained in the parking lot and did not leave.

More than two minutes later, one of the teens could be seen on the video putting on a mask and holding a pistol. He ran around the corner of the gas station and fired off 18 rounds toward Coit Avenue. Officials said they are still investigating what he was shooting at.

Several other teens pulled out guns and started shooting from the parking lot. After the gunfire subsided, the teens sped off in the stolen cars.

About two hours later, as police were still at the gas station collecting bullet casings, someone called to report a group of teenagers hanging around an abandoned house on Delevan Avenue. When officers showed up, they recognized the stolen cars from the gas station attack parked outside, and they took 13 teenagers into custody.

All of the teenagers were arraigned on Tuesday morning and 12 remain in custody. The 12-year-old girl was the only one who was released pending her trial.

O’Malley said that the teenager who first opened fire is also charged in a July 9 slaying at a park, and he will likely be charged as an adult.

The officials said addressing the epidemic will take buy-in from every member of the community, and not just those in the criminal justice system. Cleveland City Councilman Anthony Hairston specifically called on residents who may be unwilling to talk to the police to speak up, even if anonymously.

“The gloves are off,” he said. “We’re all a link in this chain that keeps things together.”