A train passenger suffered every commuter’s most primal fear after a madman ran up behind him as he looked at his phone and tried to shove him in front of an oncoming train.
The victim, identified in court documents as Peter Michael Walbrun, was attacked on March 19 at the Northgate train station in Seattle, Washington, just before 6pm.
Authorities tracked down the alleged assailant, Elisio Melendez, 26, and arrested him for attempted murder in the second degree.
The harrowing video footage depicts the man cops say is Melendez lurking behind an elevator while Walbrun waited near the platform.
Walbrun later told police that he was reading articles on his phone when he felt the violent shove.
Melendez appeared to pop his head out from behind the elevator, seemingly to check whether the train was approaching.
The suspect was seen in a black hoodie pulled over his head and black pants during the incident.
As the train approached, Melendez lunged at Walbrun and pushed him into the rail’s path, prosecutors say.
Luckily, Walbrun caught himself and pushed his alleged attacker back. After a brief physical altercation, the suspect fled the scene and disappeared behind the elevator.
Detectives with the King County Sheriff’s Office identified Melendez using surveillance footage from a nearby Hampton Inn, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Detective Dirk Graham wrote in charging documents that they traced Melendez’s whereabouts to a behavioral health facility near the train station.
Melendez allegedly told police during questioning that the man on the surveillance footage was someone that ‘maybe looked like him’ or ‘my twin that I don’t have,’ according to the affidavit.
He was taken into custody at the King County Correctional Facility on March 24 under a $750,000 bond.
‘The facts of this case are shocking and unquestionably demonstrate the extreme danger the defendant poses to the public,’ Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion wrote in Melendez’s charging documents.
Prosecutors said Melendez does not have a conviction history, but was charged with second-degree assault and domestic violence in 2019 for stabbing his sister in the stomach with a knife.
The case was dismissed in 2021 after he was found incompetent to stand trial due to a schizophrenia diagnosis and a history of mental health treatment.
Melendez was also charged with fourth-degree assault in 2017, but was never convicted, according to prosecutors.
There has been an active warrant for the case since 2021, when Melendez allegedly failed to appear for a hearing.
Melendez has not entered a plea for the attempted second-degree murder charges currently against him. He was arraigned on Tuesday, where a judge ordered a competency evaluation.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Melendez’s representation and the prosecuting attorney’s office for comment.
