- Video shows Elisio Melendez allegedly trying to push a stranger onto train tracks in Seattle
- Melendez timed the attack with train arrival to cause maximum harm and fled the scene
- He was arrested five days later at a treatment facility and denies the allegations
A terrifying video has gone viral showing the moment 26-year-old Elisio Melendez allegedly attempted to shove a stranger in front of a light rail train at Seattle's Northgate Station. Captured on March 19, the footage shows the victim narrowly escaping the tracks just as the train pulls in. Melendez has since been charged with attempted murder in the second degree.
According to the documents filed by the prosecutors in the King County Superior Court, Melendez timed the attack to coincide with the train's arrival, "making it clear that his goal" was to inflict maximum harm. Melendez fled the station after the incident, but investigators later identified him through the CCTV footage. He was caught on March 24 at a nearby residential treatment facility.
Post the arrest, Melendez denied the allegations, claiming that someone else may have been wearing his clothes. "Maybe that was my twin that I don't have," said Melendez.
Due to concerns regarding public safety and that he may not appear for court hearings, prosecutors are asking for a $750,000 bond for Melendez.
Court records show that Melendez has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and has a documented history of mental health treatment. He avoided long-term incarceration in a 2019 domestic violence case after he was found incompetent to stand trial, followed by a state-ordered civil commitment.
Check The Viral Clip Here:
Man shoves a passenger toward an oncoming light rail train at Northgate station last week
by u/JPorpoise in Seattle
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'Call Me Paranoid'
As the video went viral, shocked social media users demanded that Melendez be put behind bars, especially given his extensive rap sheet.
"This guy has some history, it looks like. Let's just let him walk around until he actually kills someone, then we will give him maybe 4 years, maybe," said one user, while another added: "Call me paranoid, but I always stay back from the tracks and am always checking my 6."
A third commented: "Honestly they should put some guard rails between the rail and platform, then just have doors that line up with the train doors. Not to say we shouldn't catch these perps, but you know."
A fourth said: "Schizophrenic POS. It's getting harder and harder to defend people with “mental illness” when they try to harm innocent people."
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