• A group of “furries” outside a convention spotted a domestic violence incident and rushed to intervene, taking down the suspect while dressed in full-body costumes.
  • Furries are people who create anthropomorphic animal characters and sometimes wear costumes to adopt their “fursonas.”
  • One convention attendee who filmed the incident said he and his friend pulled the suspect out of the car, and then four or five furries immediately jumped into the fight to pin down the man and wait for police to arrive.
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A group of “furries” attending a convention rescued a woman from an alleged assault last week, pouncing on a suspect while dressed in full-body costumes and detaining him until police arrived, according to videos and a police statement.

Furries are people interested in anthropomorphic animals, and often adopt fictitious “fursonas” and wear costumes to embody their characters.

The alleged assault took place just outside a FurCon convention in San Jose, California, last week, where a number of furries quickly teamed up to take down the suspect.

One attendee who caught the brawl on camera told NBC News that he had been outside the FurCon convention taking a smoke break and saw the victim’s car pull up with an apparent commotion inside.

"We heard a woman's screams coming from inside and saw the passenger throwing full fists at whoever was driving, 26-year-old Robbie Ryans told NBC. "We got up and ran towards the car, my friend pulled open the door and we both held onto the attacker."

Ryans said that four or five furries immediately jumped into the fight to pin down the man and wait for police to arrive.

The suspect, 22-year-old Demetri Hardnett, was arrested shortly afterwards and booked into the Santa Clara County Jail on domestic violence charges, according to a police report obtained by CNN.