Editor’s note: This story contains graphic details that may be disturbing for some people.
Several vehicles, including buses and even three bicyclists, went past on a Miami street as a naked man chewed the face off a homeless man Saturday in what has been called a zombie-like attack, video footage posted by the Miami Herald shows.
The footage, taken by security cameras on the Herald building in downtown Miami, shows the entire 18-minute attack, which ended when a police officer shot the attacker after he did not stop his assault on the homeless man.
The video quality is poor, and facial details and the gore of the scene are not visible. But the movements of those involved are. The shooting itself is obscured by the bridge that carries Miami's Metromover tramway over the site of the attack on the MacArthur Causeway.
It's not clear how much of the attack motorists could have seen, as there is a waist-high concrete barrier between the road and the sidewalk where the attack took place, but one of the bicyclists passed on the sidewalk, and one driver slowed down to look at the scene.
The footage shows that attacker, identified by Miami-Dade Police as Rudy Eugene, 31, walking along the sidewalk and then stopping in a shaded area created by the tramway bridge. He apparently attacks the victim, dragging him out from the shade, stripping the victim's clothes off and then beating him as the victim kicks his legs in an apparent attempt to fight back.
The attacker then spends several minutes crouched over the victim, including when a bicyclist rolls by on the sidewalk and a white sedan rolls very slowly past the scene.
Police said at least five of those passers-by called to the report the incident, according to the Miami Herald report accompanying the video.
When a patrol car arrives, the officer appears to draw his gun quickly, but the actual shooting is blocked by the tramway overpass.
Larry Vega witnessed the attack and spoke to CNN affiliate WSVN.
"The guy just kept eating the other guy away, like ripping his skin. It was just a blob of blood," he told WSVN.
The arrival of police did not deter the attacker, Fraternal Order of Police President Armando Aguilar told CNN affiliate WPLG.
"When the officer approached him, told him to stop, pointed a gun at him, he turned around and growled like a wild animal and kept eating at the man's face," Aguilar was quoted as saying by WPLG.
Augilar said he suspects that the attacker was under the influence of "bath salts," a drug that contains synthetic stimulants that can "cause chest pains, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, agitation, hallucinations, extreme paranoia, and delusions," according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse.
Four other instances of drug use in Miami-Dade bear resemblances to Saturday's attack, Aguilar told WPLG.
Why 'bath salts' are dangerous
Sgt. Javier Ortiz, vice president of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police, said officials won't know for certain whether drugs played a role in the attack until toxicology reports are completed in a month or so. But he said police have been seeing increased incidents of drug-induced crime in the area.
Ortiz said the victim was in critical condition at a local hospital. He could not say whether the victim and attacker knew each other.
The Herald reported that the victim's nose, face and eyes were torn off during the attack.
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oh people calm down, "The end of the world" has happened tons of times, like when the roman empire fell, we got along just fine after that. Or what about Y2K, remember how the machines went crazy and it was fixed up in ONE DAY, crazy times. Or last year when that preacher guy said the world was going to end, happened then too.
People are really stupid just becouse you don't want to belive something dosen't change the fact that is there !! This is just the begining before this they have had men eating others they even found 5 already this has been happening for a long time wierd cases but so far dosen't seems like the goverment was putting attention.. How will they stop it now?? The drug is everywhere .. There will be a lot of deads if they don't STOP IT all i hear when i go out is stupid kids taking it as a joke lets see how funny it will be when they end up killing the ones they love
Zombies eat whatever flesh they can get ahold off. Haven't you seen Walking Dead?
The bible has been proven to be fact in every way, the bible speaks of people acting as animals and becoming crazy in the end. Maybe we have begun the journey towards the end.
Hell yeah he died! And he deserved to die as well!
who knows it may become popular
Actually it is illegal; the Florida AG issued a ban on Jan 19, 2011, making sale or possesion of MPDV "bath salts" a schedule 1 felony. The DEA has also issued an Emergency Order making is a Federal offense to sell or possess it.
is his family trying to sue the police department now? maybe they can say he was legally insane or something. im sure the ACLU can think of something
Yeah they do...after ignorant racists post there comments. Commentors chuckle and agree, then someone like you points it out. Then the scrubbing begins. Racists are cowards and ignorant and really want to be like the pople they hate.
I'm glad he's was shot dead. No need to waste tax dollars on court fees, prison fees, psychologist fees.
hey man some one like that needs to get put down because regardless of drugs the concept was in is head drugs just let him play it out other sources say they didnt fatally shoot him at first he just didnt stop... and lets be honest what would you do
Go hang out in the hood and see how long it takes before some black guy commits a hideous crime against you. won't be long. you can't ignore facts that say black men commit more crime than any other race.
sorry hotshot but the pot heads aren't the problem. The problem is ignorant people like you.
Zombie Apocalypse starts in Florida. Spreads onward to georgia and neighboring states. Let's just hope those "bath salts" do not make it to our drinking water supply.