A 19-year-old college student has been charged with battery following an alleged attack at a high school cross-country meet in Georgia.
Witnesses told police in Newnan, Georgia, that a man wearing a cross-country jersey from East Coweta High School came from the woods carrying rocks.
Police were alerted by a 911 call about the bizarre attack
Officers were dispatched to the vicinity of 56 Sewell Road at 7:59 a.m. on September 26, according to the Newnan Police Department, following a 911 call about an attack at the high school cross-country competition.
According to police, the man charged at the victim, shoved him, and struck him with his fists. The perpetrator then reportedly abandoned the course and rushed back into the woods after the victim defended himself.
The suspect eventually surrendered to the police in a nearby parking lot, which was caught on body camera footage. Police discovered the East Coweta High School cross-country jersey inside the man’s car, according to CBS News.
He claimed it was a joke, but the victim disagreed
The individual was arrested and identified as a 19-year-old resident of Newnan. According to the Newnam Police Department, the suspect never actually attended East Coweta High School. Fox 5 News reported that he raced cross-country at Northgate High School, where he graduated the year before.
He denied punching the cross-country runner and said claimed it was all a joke, but the victim and witnesses said otherwise. Responding officers identified him with help from witnesses who knew him from Northgate High School.
He is reportedly currently enrolled at the University of Georgia. Police said he drove from Athens on Friday night and slept in his car before the attack on Saturday morning.
The suspect reportedly suffered a visible cut above his right eye in the scuffle with the cross-country runner he is accused of attacking. Officers called an ambulance to treat him at the scene. He was charged with battery and then booked into the Coweta County Jail.
The reason behind the suspect’s targeting of that particular runner, or whether he had a personal history with the victim, was not stated by the police.