‘He punched me square in the chest’: Victim says he was randomly attacked by homeless Seattle man

A man who asked to remain anonymous says he was randomly attacked while walking through Belltown this week, just steps away from police officers sitting in a cruiser. He shared his story exclusively with The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red 770 AM.

It was just after 7 a.m. when the man left his apartment and stopped at a corner store on 1st Avenue and Wall Street. As he exited, he said he noticed a police cruiser nearby. Crossing the street toward the Sounds & Cyclops Bar and Restaurant, he suddenly became the target of an unprovoked attack.

“I stood there, I saw a black man, dressed in a gray sweat jumpsuit—jaywalking in my direction,” he explained. “He seemed to be coming straight at me, and by the time I noticed, I couldn’t react fast enough. He punched me square in the chest, hitting me hard in the heart. I tried to back away, but I hit a signpost behind me, making the blow even more solid.

The suspect allegedly taunted him, yelling, “You wanna go? You wanna go?” as though trying to provoke a fight. The victim immediately waved down officers in the cruiser. Another police unit arrived quickly to assist.

‘He’s got a knife!’

Instead of backing down, the attacker allegedly tried to turn the tables.

“As the first officer stepped out of his vehicle, the man who attacked me suddenly played the victim, shouting, ‘He’s got a knife! He’s got a knife!’ The officers focused most of their attention on him. One of them approached me, asking what had happened. I explained the situation, and he asked if I wanted to press charges. I confirmed that I did,” the man explained.

As the suspect attempted to walk south toward downtown, officers intercepted him. According to the witness, he resisted arrest until one officer drew a taser. Police were able to detain him without further incident.

According to the police report, the officer on scene said the homeless man was “in an active mental health crisis.”

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