Keanu Evans, the man who was reportedly attacked by an Indian-origin man on a plane, leading to the latter's arrest, said the viral video of the incident only showed half of what happened. 21-year-old Ishaan Sharma has been charged with battery and is facing a $500 bond after attacking Keanu on a flight to Miami from Philadelphia. A report in WSVN.com said that Sharma allegedly started a fight with Keanu Evans during the flight. Evans said the fight started for no reason.
The video of the fight also went viral on social media. Upon landing on Monday night, Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies immediately handcuffed Sharma and took him into custody. Officials said he had a cut on his face and needed stitches.
The report added that cell phone footage showed Evans and Sharma in the middle of the fight as other passengers urged them to stop. “Let him go,” said an unidentified passenger. “Stop, let him go.”
A flight attendant reportedly also tried to break up the fight, but was unsuccessful. "Sir, you have to sit down,” a flight attendant, seen on video, told both of them.
Evans told 7News that he was attacked while simply returning to his seat and he did nothing to provoke Sharma. “What I hate is that the video doesn’t capture what started the whole thing, you know?” said Evans. “It only captures me defending myself.”
Evans said, “He was doing some, like, dark laugh like, ha ha ha ha ha. And he was saying things like, you, you puny mortal man, if you challenge me, it will result in your death.”
Evans said he then went to use the restroom and told the flight attendants what was going on. The flight attendants told him to push the button for assistance if the argument continued. Evans said he pushed the button as Sharma kept threatening him with death.
“That’s what made me get up and press the button above me and I just turned around and I looked at him and I responded to him. A lot was going on, and immediately he just got up and he put his forehead on my forehead like he was challenging me.”
Evans said the situation quickly escalated and Sharma was “looking at me very angrily and we’re looking eye to eye, forehead to forehead, and then he just grabs me by the throat and just starts choking me. At that moment it was, you know, fight or flight responses kick in. I’m in a tight, confined space on an aircraft, and all I can do is just defend myself”.
“If you see on my face, I’ve got some scratches from him,” Evans said.
Ishaan Sharma's lawyer claimed that the incident began when he was meditating. "My client is from a religion where he was meditating. Unfortunately, the passenger behind him did not like that," the attorney said.
The video of the fight also went viral on social media. Upon landing on Monday night, Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies immediately handcuffed Sharma and took him into custody. Officials said he had a cut on his face and needed stitches.
The report added that cell phone footage showed Evans and Sharma in the middle of the fight as other passengers urged them to stop. “Let him go,” said an unidentified passenger. “Stop, let him go.”
A flight attendant reportedly also tried to break up the fight, but was unsuccessful. "Sir, you have to sit down,” a flight attendant, seen on video, told both of them.
Evans told 7News that he was attacked while simply returning to his seat and he did nothing to provoke Sharma. “What I hate is that the video doesn’t capture what started the whole thing, you know?” said Evans. “It only captures me defending myself.”
Evans said, “He was doing some, like, dark laugh like, ha ha ha ha ha. And he was saying things like, you, you puny mortal man, if you challenge me, it will result in your death.”
Evans said he then went to use the restroom and told the flight attendants what was going on. The flight attendants told him to push the button for assistance if the argument continued. Evans said he pushed the button as Sharma kept threatening him with death.
“That’s what made me get up and press the button above me and I just turned around and I looked at him and I responded to him. A lot was going on, and immediately he just got up and he put his forehead on my forehead like he was challenging me.”
Evans said the situation quickly escalated and Sharma was “looking at me very angrily and we’re looking eye to eye, forehead to forehead, and then he just grabs me by the throat and just starts choking me. At that moment it was, you know, fight or flight responses kick in. I’m in a tight, confined space on an aircraft, and all I can do is just defend myself”.
“If you see on my face, I’ve got some scratches from him,” Evans said.
Ishaan Sharma's lawyer claimed that the incident began when he was meditating. "My client is from a religion where he was meditating. Unfortunately, the passenger behind him did not like that," the attorney said.
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