New video shows different angle of white man punching Black girl at N.C. mall

Another angle of a conflict involving a 250-pound man who is shown punching a black girl reveals that he seemed to be trying to intervene in a fight between a group of youths

Kia Morgan-Smith

Jan 15, 2019

fight — Man arrested after punching Black child in the face at Asheville Mall in North Carolina. (WLOS)

A new video shows a different angle of the moments right before a young Black girl was sucker punched and rendered unconscious by a 51-year-old white man outside an Asheville, N.C., mall, WLOS reports.

The viral video has spurred conversations on social media over the assault that resulted in the Black Mountain man being charged with several accounts of assault against a minor.

David Steven Bell was taken into custody by an off-duty cop after stepping in the middle of a group of teen girls who were apparently fighting each other. The new angle shown in the newest video reveals more about the context of the conflict.

Apparently, Bell seemed to be trying to intervene in the fight. He can be heard in the viral video yelling to the girls to “break it up.” The girls yell back. Bell walks threateningly toward the girls. One girl pushes Bell in the back.

The new angle shows Bell shoving a girl violently before she approaches him and gets punched brutally in the face by the 250-pound man.

A witness told the station that she believes the man was trying to help. Bell is due in court Feb. 5.

There’s been discussion brewing on social media on who’s to blame but many took to social media to defend the girls saying that Bell’s assault was a clear case of child abuse.

“TW: Child abuse

This is David Steven Bell in Asheville, NC brutally beating young black girls.?

He has been arrested & charged with assault. This coward deserves to be put away for a long, long time. Barbaric.”

https://twitter.com/MuslimIQ/status/1084534644949831680

He could have Walked Away like an Adult!

— KDP 🇨🇦 (@lilsun83) January 13, 2019

Some of the comments about context are interesting. I can only imagine that if he hit a blonde blue eyed girl, that people would be more outraged and demanding the death penalty.

— Raquel Papel (@RaquelPapel) January 14, 2019

According to reports, Bell is a piano teacher with a business in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

Bell was released from the Buncombe County Jail early Sunday. He could serve up to 450 days in jail if convicted of the three misdemeanor charges, according to reports.