A homeless man from Pierson, released from jail seven days ago, was again arrested on Tuesday, Jan. 20, and charged with attacking a child in DeLand, police said.
DeLand police said Christopher Schwable, 36, attacked the child with a knife and choked him. The child suffered a cut to his finger, an arrest report states.
A citizen, who saw the attack at Clear Lake Drive and Spring Garden Avenue at the entrance of The Cascades subdivision, struck Schwable with a toolbox and held him down until police arrived at the scene, the report states.
The incident occurred around 8:30 a.m., according to an arrest report provided to the News-Journal on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
Volusia County Branch Jail records show Schwable was locked up without bail on Wednesday on charges of aggravated child abuse and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Court records also show Schwable was arrested on Dec. 22 on charges of indecent exposure and two counts of possession of possessing paraphernalia. Prosecutors dropped the charges on Jan. 13, and Schwable was released on his own recognizance after 23 days in jail.
DeLand witness clobbers child’s attacker with toolbox
A witness told police he was driving through the intersection when he saw Schwable choking the child. The witness said he made a U-Turn and went to the child’s rescue, but when he got to the scene, he noticed the boy had escaped from Schwable and had gone home to get his mother, the report said.
The witness said he grabbed a toolbox from his vehicle, thinking Schwable might be armed, and approached the transient man sitting on the curb. The witness asked Schwable what he was doing, and Schwable pulled a knife, according to police.
The witness, who stood two feet from Schwable, was able to stop the homeless man’s left hand holding a folding pocket knife and then clobbered him with the toolbox, the report detailed.
DeLand child said he was grabbed by the throat
Police arrived on the scene to find Schwable facedown on the road with the witness kneeling down near him. Schwable was bleeding from the back of the head, the report indicated.
The victim was too distraught to talk to police but managed to say that Schwable grabbed him by the throat and that he had a cut on his finger, police said.
The victim’s older brother told police that Schwable walked up to the child, brandishing a knife, and physically grabbed his sibling, police said.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: DeLand child attacked and choked by homeless man, police say
Reporting by Patricio G. Balona, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
