DeLAND, Fla. – DeLand police have released body-worn camera video that was recorded while officers responded to a violent incident at an intersection on Tuesday.
Christopher Steven Schwable, 36, of Pierson, is accused of aggravated child abuse and aggravated assault in the incident, police said.
Witnesses said that Schwable, whom police described as a transient, choked a juvenile and used a knife to threaten an adult near a bus stop in the area of Clear Lake Drive and North Spring Garden Avenue.
[VIDEO: Bodycam videos released in knife attack at DeLand bus stop]
One witness told officers he saw Schwable choking a juvenile he knew. Fearing for the child’s safety, the witness said he made a U-turn and returned to the intersection, where he saw the juvenile running away from Schwable.
The witness told police that he had approached Schwable with a toolbox in hand, unsure whether he was armed, when Schwable allegedly told the witness that he ”stopped that man in his path" and held up a knife with his right hand.
“(The witness) advised that he used his left hand to control Schwable’s right hand holding the knife and used his right hand to strike Schwable approximately two times with the toolbox in self-defense,” the affidavit states.
The newly-released bodycam video shows officers responding to the scene and seeing a man holding a bleeding Schwable to the ground.
“This guy was choking him out,” the man kneeling over Schwable said. “I got out, he had a big-a** knife. (...) It’s some-f***ing-where, I don’t know. I grab my toolbox to defend against him and then I tackled his a** and got him down. He was f***ing beating the s*** out of this kid, man.”
Officers eventually recovered a folding knife from Schwable’s person, police said.
Another video shared by DeLand police shows an officer speaking with the victim, who recounted being attacked.
“I see this guy walking down the street. Yeah, down the sidewalk, and then he approaches me and starts saying some stuff that I didn’t understand, and he grabbed me and pulled his knife out,” the teen said. “I tried to get away. (...) He tried hitting me, punching me a bunch.”
The officer behind the camera goes on to ask several questions about a perceived injury to the interviewee’s head, the video shows.
Police described the victim as a student. In a statement, Volusia County Schools said it was working closely with law enforcement and local municipalities to increase monitoring at bus stops throughout its community.
“We appreciate the swift response from law enforcement and remain committed to keeping our students safe both in our schools and in the communities we serve,” the district said in a statement. “We encourage families to remind students about personal safety awareness and to report any concerns to school administration or law enforcement immediately.”
Watch the videos in the player at the top of this story.
“I’m thankful for the guy that was able to help him out before we were able to get out there,” said Fernise Fertil.
Fertil said her younger brother is still shaken up by the attack and won’t be riding the school bus again any time soon.
“He’s feeling a little bit better but probably a little paranoid because it was unprovoked,” she said.
News 6 found court records showing Schwable had only been out of the jail for a week before being accused of randomly attacking the teen.
He was arrested in December and was in jail until last week on charges for exposing himself and having drug paraphernalia, but the prosecutor decided to drop the charges. News 6 reached out to the State Attorney’s Office to find out why charges were dropped and is still waiting for a response.
[MORE: Transient attacked juvenile at bus stop in DeLand, pulled knife on bystander, police say]