A man appeared to randomly attack a deaf passenger on a cross-country United Airlines flight on Monday, leaving the non-verbal victim terrified and bleeding, according to a witness. Sandhya Gupta says she awoke two hours into the flight from San Francisco to Washington Dulles International Airport to the sound of "blood-curdling screams" and the sight of a man in the row in front of her viciously attacking a man in the window seat. "He was just very violently and very aggressively just pummeling the guy," Gupta tells KGO-TV. The FBI says the minute-long attack left blood splatter on a window, wall, seat, and on the suspect's sleeves, per the Los Angeles Times.
The suspect, Everett Chad Nelson, was returning from the bathroom when he attacked the sleeping victim in a row that wasn't his, according to an affidavit. "I will not forget the look in his eyes," Gupta tells CBS News. "It was like he was seeing through the victim." Gupta says another passenger jumped in, wrapping up the attacker, who "just went limp," per KGO. "It was like powering off a robot," Gupta tells CBS. The victim was then able to use sign language. "That's when we realized he was deaf and non-verbal," Gupta tells KGO.
The man ended up communicating with crew members through text messages. He "just kept texting, 'I'm so scared,'" says Gupta. He was treated by a doctor on board and is said to be fine, though shaken. Nelson was taken to the front of the plane and monitored, but not restrained, Gupta tells CBS, adding a flight attendant said he claimed the victim had attacked him earlier in the street. Nelson was arrested when the plane landed as planned in Virginia. He is facing federal assault charges, per the Times. (More assault stories.)
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