DELAND, Fla. – DeLand city officials honored a local man Monday night for his quick action in saving a 13-year-old boy from what DeLand police described as a knife attack at a bus stop last month.
Joseph Wells received the Distinguished Citizen Service Award at DeLand City Hall for subduing an alleged attacker on Jan. 20 until police arrived. DeLand police said Wells was driving past a bus stop when he spotted Christopher Schwable, whom authorities identified as a transient, attacking the teenager with a knife.
According to police reports, Wells pulled his vehicle over and, armed only with a toolbox, intervened in the attack. DeLand police said he successfully fought off Schwable and pinned him down until officers arrived to make the arrest.
[VIDEO: Bodycam videos released in attack at DeLand bus stop]
“We had a citizen see someone in need and intervene and help. I think that’s rare in today’s world,” DeLand Police Chief Jason Umberger said during the ceremony. “Nothing that I can recall in my 33-year career where a person intervened like Joseph did.”
[VIDEO: Transient attacked juvenile at bus stop in DeLand, pulled knife on bystander, police say]
The teenage victim attended the ceremony alongside Wells, who remained humble and silent as he accepted his awards.
The mayor’s proclamation highlighted Wells’s decisive actions, noting that he “acted without hesitation, successfully restraining the attacker until law enforcement arrived. His decisive actions likely prevented serious harm or loss of life.”
DeLand police said Schwable remains in the Volusia County Jail without bond as he awaits trial.