A Florida man beat a fellow traveler — who was sleeping — to a bloody mess on a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Washington D.C. yesterday. And the reason? None, as far as anyone can gather.
The assault took place around two hours into the flight, after 44-year-old Everett Chad Nelson went to the bathroom at the front of the plane. On his way back to his seat, the angry gentleman took a detour and "without notice, began physically attacking a sleeping male passenger by punching him repeatedly in the face and head until blood was drawn," according to a federal complaint filed on Tuesday via The Independent.
The horrifying attack reportedly lasted for a full minute while the victim screamed. Finally, when nobody from United stepped in, another passenger intervened, pulling Nelson off of his victim. The beaten man was left with two black eyes and a split-open nose. Everything around him was splattered with blood, including his seat, the wall, the window, and the sleeves of his green windbreaker.
Nelson was arrested, federally "charged with one count of assault by beating, striking, and wounding in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States."
The bizarre assault occurred on the same day that another Florida man used a machete with an 18-inch blade to threaten two Democratic voters at a library polling station in Neptune Beach.
From The Independent:
Following the shocking beatdown, the complaint says flight attendants moved Nelson to a seat up front, where the person who stepped in was able to keep an eye on him for the remainder of the flight. Numerous other passengers witnessed the beatdown, and the victim was treated for his injuries by a doctor who happened to be onboard, the complaint continues.
"Thanks to the quick action of our crew and customers, one passenger was restrained after becoming physically aggressive toward another customer on a flight from San Francisco to Washington Dulles on Monday," a United official told The Independent. "The flight landed safely and was met by paramedics and local law enforcement."
