A man in the United States violently attacked a deaf and non-verbal passenger while he slept on a United Airlines flight last week until the cabin was splattered with blood. According to the New York PostThe incident occurred Monday aboard a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Washington Dulles. Authorities identified the suspect as 44-year-old Everett Chal Nelson. The incident happened when Mr. Nelson got up to go to the bathroom. When he returned to his seat, he stopped at seat 12F and began punching the man sleeping there, according to the affidavit, which did not identify the victim.
The 44-year-old pulled up to seat 12F and “without notice, began physically assaulting a sleeping male passenger by repeatedly punching him in the face and head until blood was drawn,” according to the complaint. After. “Before I know it, all I hear is blood-curdling screams,” said Sandhya Gupta, who was sitting a row behind the victim. ABC 7 News.
“He was just very violent and very aggressive, he just punched the guy who was sitting on the window seat who was sitting in front of me, and it was mean. This wasn’t like a bar, ‘I’m going to throw a few punches.’ ” “I mean, this was mean,” she said.
According to officials, Mr. Nelson punched the defenseless man’s face for a full minute. He stopped the attack after another passenger rushed up the aisle and threw his arms around him.
The complaint states that Mr. Nelson split open the man’s nose, causing blood to splatter across his seat, cabin wall and window. The victim was left with two black eyes.
After the two were separated, a doctor on board treated the man for his injuries – then passengers and crew discovered that the man could not speak or hear. “When he tried to communicate with us in sign language, we realized he was deaf and non-verbal,” said Gupta.
The victim communicated with the crew via telephone messages. “He also kept texting: ‘I’m so scared.’ Like it was just horrible,” the airline passenger added.
Mr. Nelson escaped unharmed and “there was no evidence that (the alleged victim) struck him in defense,” the complaint said. Flight attendants moved the suspect to a front seat and assigned the same man involved to watch over him until the plane landed.
The motive behind the violent attack is unknown. It is also not clear whether the two men had a previous relationship before the attack.
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The TSA contacted the FBI mid-flight and indicated there was a “Level 2 malfunction” on board, which the Federal Aviation Administration says amounts to “physical abuse.” That puts the incident one step above “Level 1,” which is “disruptive conduct,” but ahead of “Level 3,” which is an “attempted or actual cockpit breach.”
“Thanks to the quick action of our crew and customers, one passenger was restrained Monday after becoming physically aggressive with another customer on a flight from San Francisco to Washington Dulles,” a United Airlines spokesperson said in a statement, adding admitted: “The flight landed safely and was met by paramedics and local law enforcement.”
Mr Nelson has been charged with assault by beating, beating and wounding in the US special aircraft jurisdiction. If convicted, he could face up to a year in prison.