FOX 35 Orlando anchors John Brown and LuAnne Sorrell opened the story with the kind of sentence that makes your stomach drop, because they weren’t describing a faraway crime scene, but a school bus stop in DeLand where kids were doing the most ordinary thing in the world – waiting for a ride to class.
Brown told viewers that body camera footage shows the moment a Good Samaritan stepped in and saved a 13-year-old boy during an attack, and Sorrell added that, for the first time, the boy who escaped a choke hold was being heard on camera.
According to FOX 35 reporter Chris Lindsay, the attack happened at the corner of North Spring Garden and Clear Lake on DeLand’s west side, and it unfolded fast enough that the boy didn’t have time to process what was happening before he was fighting to get free.
WKMG News 6 ClickOrlando community correspondent Molly Reed described the same morning as a violent incident that brought police racing to the aid of a teen and the Good Samaritan who intervened, and she said the newly released video shows just how tense it was when officers arrived.
It’s hard not to notice how fragile “normal” can be in a moment like this, because one stranger walking down a sidewalk turned a routine bus stop into an emergency that could have ended far worse.
Police Name The Suspect And The Charges Stack Up
Chris Lindsay reported that police arrested Christopher Steven Schwable, 36, after authorities said he attacked the boy while the teen was waiting for the bus.
Lindsay said Schwable had been out of jail for only about a week before this alleged attack, and he described it as unprovoked, which is a word that hits harder when you picture a kid standing with other children, not expecting danger.
Molly Reed also said police accused Schwable of suddenly choking the teen, and she noted that Schwable wasn’t going anywhere from the Volusia County Jail “at least not yet,” because the legal process was already moving.
Both Lindsay and Reed reported that Schwable faced serious charges tied to the incident, including aggravated child abuse and aggravated assault, with Lindsay adding that Schwable was in jail and that his court appearance was delayed.
Reed explained why the first appearance didn’t happen on schedule, saying a judge pushed it back because Schwable was having serious behavioral issues when they tried to bring him out, and the court decided to give it another day in hopes he would cooperate.
That detail matters because it suggests the chaos didn’t stop at the bus stop; it followed into the court system, where even getting the case started became complicated.
The Boy’s Account On Bodycam: “He Grabbed Me And Pulled His Knife Out”
In the FOX 35 report, Chris Lindsay said new bodycam footage captured the victim describing what happened, and it’s the kind of account that feels simple and confusing at the same time, because the boy said the attacker approached him and started saying things he didn’t understand.
Molly Reed, reporting for News 6, repeated the teen’s description from the body camera angle, quoting the boy as saying he saw a man walking down the sidewalk, then the man approached and spoke in a way that didn’t make sense to him.
The teen, in the bodycam footage referenced by both reporters, said the man grabbed him and pulled out a knife, and he explained that he tried to get away as the attacker tried hitting him and punching him repeatedly.
Lindsay described the victim as visibly shaken while talking to officers, and Reed said the footage shows the teen recounting the terrifying moment in a way that still sounds stunned, like he’s trying to put the pieces in order while the adrenaline is still high.
What stands out here is how the boy’s words are not dramatic, they’re plain and direct, and that’s often how real fear sounds – short, literal, and focused on what he saw and felt.
The Moment A Stranger Makes A U-Turn And Steps In
Both Chris Lindsay and Molly Reed centered the same turning point: a passerby who saw the attack happening and made a decision that likely saved the boy from worse harm.
Reed said the Good Samaritan told officers he saw Schwable attacking the teen, quickly made a U-turn, pulled over, and jumped out to help.
Lindsay identified that Good Samaritan as Joseph Wells, the maintenance manager at the nearby Point Grand Apartment Complex, and he said Wells stepped in just as the teen was trying to escape.
In Lindsay’s telling, Wells declined an interview when approached later, saying he wanted the body camera footage to speak for itself, which is a choice that fits the moment – he doesn’t appear to be chasing attention, just wanting the facts to be seen.
Reed reported that the teen ran away to safety once the adult intervened, but the danger didn’t end, because police said Schwable then pulled the knife on the Good Samaritan as well.
The body camera audio captured the urgency in real time, with repeated lines like “He’s got a knife,” and confused questions about where the knife was, the kind of frantic back-and-forth that happens when people are trying to lock down a threat before someone gets hurt again.
This is also where the story becomes quietly fascinating and grim at the same time: a toolbox, something meant for fixing doors and pipes, suddenly became the closest thing to a shield in a life-or-death moment.
“I Grabbed My Toolbox”: How He Held The Suspect Down
Chris Lindsay said Wells told officers he grabbed his toolbox to defend himself and tackled the suspect, getting him down and keeping him pinned until police arrived.
Molly Reed described that same account, saying the Good Samaritan told officers he hit Schwable with his toolbox and held him there until officers took control, and the bodycam audio captured the man’s tone – angry, shaken, and focused on protecting the kid.
In the more intense bodycam quote that Reed highlighted, the Good Samaritan said, “This guy was choking him out,” and then added, “I got out, he had a big-a** knife,” explaining he grabbed his toolbox, tackled him, and got him down.
Chris Lindsay’s report included the same general sequence, describing officers arriving to find Schwable on the ground and the Good Samaritan keeping him pinned, while police tried to figure out where the knife was.
One officer asked which pocket the knife was in, and the answer came back: “It’s in my right pocket,” a small line that shows how quickly a scene can shift from chaos to a controlled search once law enforcement has the suspect contained.
Lindsay reported that Schwable was found with a head injury at the scene, and Reed described officers seeing a bleeding Schwable being held down, which suggests the struggle was physical and messy, not a clean Hollywood takedown.
What’s compelling about this part is that it’s not about being a superhero; it’s about a person seeing a child in immediate danger and doing the blunt, risky thing that needed doing, even though he didn’t know what the attacker would do next.
Witnesses React, And The Neighborhood Doesn’t Feel The Same
Chris Lindsay included comments from William Flanders, who reacted with disbelief, calling the situation crazy and saying he was glad citizens drive by and help others out, especially on a dead-end street where neighbors look out for each other.
That neighborhood angle matters because a bus stop isn’t a private space; it’s a shared community point, and when violence hits there, it doesn’t just scare the victim, it shifts how everyone around it feels when they see kids standing outside.
Molly Reed brought in the boy’s family perspective through Fernise Fertill, who said she was thankful for the guy who helped before officers could get there.
Fertill, in Reed’s report, said her younger brother was not badly hurt, but he was shaken, and she explained that he won’t be riding the bus again anytime soon, because the attack was unprovoked and he’s likely feeling paranoid.
That part is painful because it shows the real cost: even when a child survives, the world still changes for them, and routine things like walking to a bus stop can start feeling like a gamble.
I also can’t help thinking about how many attacks like this don’t get interrupted in time, because no one sees it, or no one is willing to step in, or they don’t have anything to defend themselves with, which is why this particular intervention feels so rare and so important.
The Jail Release Timeline Raises Hard Questions
Both reporters noted Schwable had only been out of jail for about a week before the attack, and that timeline is the kind of detail that instantly triggers a bigger argument about how repeat offenders, homelessness, mental illness, and public safety collide in small cities.
Chris Lindsay reported that Schwable had been released after prosecutors dropped earlier charges, and Molly Reed similarly said he had been held on charges involving indecent exposure and drug paraphernalia before those charges were dropped.
Reed said court records showed Schwable had been in jail until last week, and she mentioned that News 6 reached out to the State Attorney’s Office for why charges were dropped and was still waiting for a response at the time of her report.
Lindsay reported Schwable was taken to a hospital for treatment and then booked into jail, while Reed described the court delay and the judge’s decision to postpone the appearance due to behavioral issues, adding another layer to the concern about what kind of state he was in during the attack.
This is where my own view creeps in: when a person is released, then quickly shows up in a case involving a child, a knife, and a bus stop, the public doesn’t just want an arrest—they want to know what failed, and whether the system is built to prevent the next version of this story.
And the toolbox detail, as strange as it sounds, becomes a symbol of that gap: the public shouldn’t have to rely on a random person with tools in their car to keep a kid safe at 7 a.m.
A Final Note Of Gratitude, And A Warning For Parents
Chris Lindsay closed his FOX 35 report by saying Schwable remained jailed and that his court appearance was postponed after the judge found him too disorderly, pushing proceedings to the next day.
Molly Reed ended her News 6 report by echoing that the judge would try again on Thursday for the first appearance on the attack charges, while emphasizing that, for the boy and his family, the calendar doesn’t matter as much as the fear they’re left with.
This whole case, as Lindsay and Reed laid it out, is a reminder that safety isn’t only about police response time, because even fast response doesn’t erase the seconds before officers arrive.
And it’s also a reminder that ordinary people – like Joseph Wells, described by Lindsay as a maintenance manager – sometimes become the thin line between a bad situation and a tragedy, not because they planned it, but because they refused to drive past and pretend they didn’t see.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, John developed a love for the great outdoors early on. With years of experience as a wilderness guide, he’s navigated rugged terrains and unpredictable weather patterns. John is also an avid hunter and fisherman who believes in sustainable living. His focus on practical survival skills, from building shelters to purifying water, reflects his passion for preparedness. When he’s not out in the wild, you can find him sharing his knowledge through writing, hoping to inspire others to embrace self-reliance.
