Arrest made in ‘Unacceptable’ graphic fight video circulating in Savannah

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - [UPDATE 2:08 P.M. 6/19/26] A man and woman were arrested Friday by the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office in connection to an assault caught on video in Savannah.

Elijawan Wilson, 24, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and battery for the fight, which happened on West Congress Street.

“Woopty do, y’all got a Mr. Fighter,” Wilson said as he was booked into the sheriff’s office today. WTOC was the only news station there as deputies took Wilson into custody.

Tania Phillips was also arrested and charged with battery, according to the sheriff’s office. In the video, she is the woman wearing black clothing, assaulting the victim and dragging him at the end.

Sheriff Richard Coleman said one video from Saturday night showed two men fighting before an officer intervened. A second video from Wednesday night showed a man being attacked by a group of people, including being kicked, punched and stomped on the head while unconscious on the ground, before being dragged along the pavement.

Coleman visited the victim, who has severe injuries, at the hospital this week.

Investigators are still looking for two more suspects connected to the case.

Wilson was arrested four separate times in 2020 for violent assaults. He was arrested for aggravated assault domestic violence-strangulation in December, simple battery family violence in July, simple battery family violence in late March and simple assault family violence in early March. He previously spent time in Savannah’s Regional Youth Detention Center, though the charges are not known since juvenile records are sealed.

Two graphic fight videos circulating online are now at the center of an active investigation by the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office.

Chatham County Sheriff Richard Coleman says investigators are working to identify the people seen on video assaulting a man in downtown Savannah.

The sheriff’s office provided the recordings to WTOC. The videos and images may be disturbing to some viewers.

“These are absolutely terrible, unacceptable and cannot be tolerated here in Chatham County,” Coleman said.

Coleman discussed the videos in a Facebook Live broadcast Thursday and went to West Congress Street near Ellis Square, where the sheriff’s office said the fights occurred.

According to the sheriff’s office, one video was taken Saturday night and shows two men fighting on West Congress Street. One of the men is seen running toward the intersection near Barnard Street before an officer steps in to stop the fight from continuing.

The second video, from Wednesday night on West Congress Street, shows a man surrounded by a group of people and attacked on the ground. The man is seen being kicked and punched, with one person kicking and stomping on the man’s head multiple times before he is dragged along the pavement.

Coleman said the victim in the Wednesday-night video was taken to the hospital to assess his injuries and that he met with him.

“The subject has been sent to the hospital to get a medical perspective on the injuries he suffered,” Coleman said. “I had the chance to meet with the victim who appeared to be in pretty bad shape.”

Coleman says investigators are working to identify everyone involved and provide justice for the victim. He adds that there are three possible suspects they’re looking into.

“I don’t know who you think you’re playing with, but you got the wrong county and the wrong sheriff,” Coleman said in the Facebook Live broadcast. “We’re going to get your behinds and we’re going to put you in the Coleman Inn in that jailhouse where you belong.”

Coleman said the investigation remains active and the sheriff’s office cannot release names at this time.