A man from North Carolina was arrested after he allegedly punched a young girl in the face outside of a North Carolina mall on Saturday. A spokesperson from the Asheville Police Department told Newsweek that a fight involving a group of juveniles broke out at the Asheville Mall in Asheville, North Carolina. David Stephen Bell, 51, pushed a young girl and hit her, police said. Bell, who is from Black Mountain, North Carolina, was arrested by an off-duty police officer and charged with assault of a female under 12-years-old and two counts of assault on a female, the police spokesperson told Newsweek. The incident is currently under investigation, according to the spokesperson. A video of the incident has circulated online. In the video, there is a group of young girls yelling and screaming at one another. Bell can be seen pushing the young black girl. After she's pushed, the girl walks up to the man to confront him when he punches her in the face. It is unclear from the video how the fight started or why the man punched the girl. The Asheville Citizen Times reported that all victims involved in the incident refused to seek medical attention and did not want to be transported to a hospital. Following the incident of the fight and the circulation of the video across social media, the Asheville Mall tweeted that they are aware of the video and that someone was arrested. "We are aware of the videos circulating on social media. The @AshevillePolice responded immediately and the situation was diffused," the mall tweeted on Saturday. "An arrest has been made. Please contact the Asheville Police Department with further questions." We are aware of the videos circulating on social media. The @AshevillePolice responded immediately and the situation was diffused. An arrest has been made. Please contact the Asheville Police Department with further questions. — Asheville Mall (@AshevilleMall) January 13, 2019 A woman from Indiana was arrested in October after she allegedly left a racist note on her new neighbor's doorstep targeting the couple's bi-racial son just days after they moved in. Deborah Cantwell, 63, from Greentown, Indiana, was arrested on suspicion of intimidation, the Kokomo Tribune previously reported. The child's father contacted the Howard County Sheriff's Department after finding the racist note on their doorstep and their house covered in toilet paper. In the note posted to the family's GoFundMe page, the letter stated that the "neighborhood is a white neighborhood" and wrote that "YOUR [racial expletive] KID IS NOT WELCOME." "No [racial expletive] wanted in this neighborhood-THIS IS A WHITE NEIGHBORHOOD-some people find [racial expletive] stressful," Cantwell wrote, according to the affidavit viewed by the Kokomo Tribune.<doc-sep>A burly, 250-pound North Carolina man was arrested after video showed him punching an 11-year-old girl in the face, sending her to the ground with a brutal left hook, video shows. David Steven Bell, 51, of Black Mountain, attacked the victim after a throng of young girls surrounded him outside the Asheville Mall on Saturday, when the 6-foot-5 man shoved one of them during a heated exchange, video shows. The girl raised her hands and ran back toward Bell – who then decked her, sending her to the ground in an instant. The other young girls with the victim, as well as other witnesses, began screaming as the brief recording ended while some of them ran back inside the mall. Bell, who did not return a request seeking comment Tuesday, was booked on three charges, including assault on a child under the age of 12 for punching the 11-year-old girl, according to arrest warrants obtained Monday by the Asheville Citizen Times. Bell is also facing two counts of assault on a female after two 13-year-old girls in the crowd later told police that he shoved them during the altercation as well, a police spokeswoman told the newspaper. The condition of the 11-year-old girl – who was not named – remains unclear. Attempts by the Citizen Times to reach her relatives or someone to speak on her behalf were unsuccessful. Two representatives for the 13-year-old girls, meanwhile, declined to comment, the newspaper reports. A mall spokeswoman said the incident is being reviewed to determine if adjustments are needed to the facility’s security protocols. “Some measures are visible to the public and others are not,” spokeswoman Catharine Wells said. “In addition to maintaining a full-time professional security team, we partner with the Asheville Police Department and hire off-duty officers to patrol the interior and exterior of the property.” It wasn’t clear what immediately preceded the confrontation, but some on social media took exception to the fact that Bell was charged with misdemeanor offenses. “Mall cops hardly took the thing seriously and local police charged the man with a damn misdemeanor,” one woman wrote. “He’s already out. A misdemeanor. I’m furious.” Another comment noted that Bell could’ve “easily killed” the girl with the brutal left-handed blow. “This is disgusting,” one comment read. “Who in their right mind finds it okay to punch an eleven year old girl? Especially being as large as he is. It saddens me that this hatred is in a town that I hold dear to my heart and has always had such a peaceful environment.” Bell is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 5, court records show. It was unclear if he had hired an attorney.<doc-sep>
This is the shocking moment a middle-aged white man punches a young black girl in the face in front of a horrified crowd of kids standing outside a shopping mall. The altercation involving 51-year-old David Steven Bell and the 11-year-old victim was captured on cellphone video around 7pm Saturday outside the Asheville Mall in North Carolina. Bell is seen in the footage bickering back and forth with the group of young girls, before one of them harmlessly shoves him from behind. It's unclear what transpired between Bell and the children before the video was filmed. David Steven Bell, 51, is seen outside the Asheville Mall in North Carolina Saturday night Video shows the man violently punches the girl in the face and she falls to the ground The 11-year-old victim appears to hit her head on the pavement during the fall He is heard in the clip ordering the kids to 'break it up' before the girl filming the incident asks, 'who is he?' Seconds later, Bell is seen forcefully pushing the female victim in the chest before she storms toward him again. Bell, who is 6ft 5in and 250lbs, according to jail records, has been charged with assault on a female under the age of 12 and two counts of assault The man in the video violently punches her in the face and she falls to the ground, appearing to hit her head on the pavement. The girl filming then screams out: 'Oh my god! Oh my god,' before the video concludes. Bell is 6ft 5in and 250lbs, according to online jail records. Bell was arrested after the incident and charged with assault on a female under the age of 12 and two counts of assault. He was booked to Buncombe County jail but released around 1am Sunday. The victim declined medical treatment, according to police, who have not revealed the nature of her injuries. Bell's Facebook page, which has since been deleted, said he resides in Black Mountain and is married with two children. He is employed as an at-home piano teacher. A woman who appears to be his wife is seen in the left-hand corner of the video watching the violent brawl in silence. Bell, pictured above with his wife, is from Black Mountain and has two children Bell, pictured again with his wife, works as an at-home piano teacher Police are currently investigating the Saturday incident. The Asheville Mall also said in a statement: 'We are aware of the videos circulating on social media. 'The @AshevillePolice responded immediately and the situation was diffused. An arrest has been made. 'Please contact the Asheville Police Department with further questions.'