Two men are under arrest in Massachusetts after a viral video showed an unprompted beating of a pregnant woman who had fallen ill.
The incident happened in the city of Quincy, where police say a pregnant woman fell ill outside a post office building and vomited on the sidewalk. Authorities explained that two teenagers — 19-year-old Tyrese D. Johnson-Nurse and 18-year-old David D. Russell — saw the woman vomit and began laughing at her. When she said “excuse me” to the pair, one allegedly spit in her face and they began attacking her, WHDH reported.
The woman was with her boyfriend, who tried to fight off the teenagers as they repeatedly punched the pregnant woman in the face. He was attacked as well and suffered injuries to her head. Other bystanders joined in, trying to stop the attack and fight off the teens, who allegedly taunted the woman as they knocked her to the ground and punched her in the face repeatedly.
The woman yelled, “I’m pregnant…I’m pregnant…I’m pregnant,” police said, but this only made the alleged attackers more enraged.
“I hope he dies. I will kill your kid,” one of the suspects allegedly responded. They then kicked the woman in the stomach.
Video of the brutal attack made the rounds online, showing the teens throwing wild punches both at the woman and at bystanders who tried to intervene. The footage prompted some very strong reactions online, with many calling for stiff punishments for the pair. Others who lived in the area were especially shocked, commenting that it is normally a safe area and that random attacks were virtually unheard of in Quincy.
Alec Zeng, the man who captured the video, told WHDH he tried to yell at the men to stop their attack. It did nothing.
“They just weren’t listening. They were just going crazy,” Zeng said.
He continued to capture the beating (so police could use it to track down the suspects) then called 911. They apprehended the pair a short time later at a store.
WATCH: Video recorded by a witness shows a man punching and kicking a woman along a sidewalk near the post office on Washington Street in #Quincy Tuesday afternoon. https://t.co/ReiLANsSJl
— NBC 10 WJAR (@NBC10) April 13, 2019
2 men accused of viciously beating sick pregnant woman outside Quincy post office https://t.co/W8PAoy0gIH #7News pic.twitter.com/rXf047jKsJ
— 7News Boston WHDH (@7News) April 12, 2019
The pregnant woman who was beaten in the viral video was taken to a nearby hospital, along with her boyfriend. The woman, who was not named, told WHDH that she was not seriously hurt, and has since been able to go back to work.
Tyrese D. Johnson-Nurse and David D. Russell now face a number of charges, including aggravated assault and battery on a pregnant woman and assault and battery.
