JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A woman punched by a man outside a lounge on the Southside spoke to News4JAX about the assault. The punch was captured on video back in March and just surfaced online.
"I was just scared. I was just really scared. I didn't realize how hard he hit me until I saw that video," said Bre.
The video showed a man, who came out of nowhere and sucker-punched the woman, knocking her to the ground. The incident happened at night, in front of a large crowd in a parking lot of the St. Johns Town Center near Suite and Blackfinn.
Bre said she didn't think the events of March 12 would come back to haunt her but that changed when she logged onto Facebook Thursday morning.
"My mom shared the video from the news article or whatever and she said if this was my daughter … and I click on it and it's a video of me getting knocked out by a dude at Suite," said Bre.
Plenty of people watched the fight happen and did nothing about it. News4Jax Crime and Safety Analyst Gil Smith weighed in on what charges the man could face and what bystanders should have done.
Smilth said he was shocked when he saw this viral video.
"It was a terrible, I saw him running up on her and hit her very hard, and she seem to be laid out there for a long period of time," said Smith.
Bre said the man came out of nowhere and hit her, then ran off.
"I had a huge gash on my elbow. A gash on my hip from falling. I had a baseball on my head because my head was so swollen. I had a black eye. It was awful. Both of my thighs are completely scratched up," said Bre.
News4Jax reached out to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office about the incident but they did not say when the incident happened or if the man was arrested. But Smith said if the man is caught, he could face charges.
"Well, that would be considered a battery, so it's a misdemeanor battery charge with that he would be charged with. Police probably responded and filed a report and I'm sure they will be able to find him, because if he's dating the young lady she would know his name is of me she would know his name, and his information and where he lives."
The person who posted the original video said the male attacker saw a woman he was dating with another man, but that information has not been confirmed by police.
Bre said she doesn't know if her attacker was ever caught, but she wants to ask him why?
"Like what was your motive? I did nothing to you. I have no idea who you are – why would you punch a girl to begin with," said Bre.
The incident took place in front of dozens of bystanders and some even ran after the attacker, but that's an action Smith said is not always safe.
"He could have been armed. He could have had a weapon that he could have used against them. It's risky sometimes getting involved, but after he did hit her, I notice about four or five young man did go after him. I don't know if they held him for police. If not, they could have just got a description of him and his tag number or something like that and then let police handle it."