Generic police lights. (FOX 9)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - An attack on a light rail platform left a woman with a fractured skull and other serious injuries that resulted in attempted murder charges for a man who was arrested nearby with blood on his hands.
The suspect, Jerrod Rentist Johnson, 20, of Minneapolis, is charged with attempted murder and assault. Court records show he also has a pending assault charge in Hennepin County, where he is accused of attacking another woman near Government Plaza in Minneapolis.
Both women said they did not know Johnson before they were attacked.
St. Paul light rail stop attack
Police response:
Police responded to the light rail train platform at the intersection of Fairview and University Avenue in St. Paul around 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 7, after getting reports that a man was attacking a woman with a table leg.
Officers then found the woman lying on the ground in a pool of blood, with severe injuries to her head and face. Her clothes were also covered in blood, and her glasses were broken nearby.
The criminal complaint states "a large wooden table leg with what appeared to be blood on it" was found on a nearby platform walkway.
Officers then arrested Johnson, who was found with blood on his hands, after witnesses said he walked west on University Avenue.
Video captures attack:
Investigators say they have viewed surveillance footage that captured the entire incident.
The complaint states Johnson spotted the victim after she exited a bus and walked toward the train platform. He then followed her, jogging past the bus and pulling his pants up with one hand while holding the table leg with the other.
The footage shows Jonson swinging the table leg "like a baseball bat," striking the woman in the head. The complaint states the woman turned around, stunned, before Johnson hit her again on the shoulder.
The woman screamed for help and ran on the platform ramp before Johnson caught up to her and hit her 21 more times with the table leg, according to the complaint. She tried to protect herself, but eventually lost consciousness, went limp, and stopped moving.
Johnson then continued hitting her with the table leg for 17 seconds while she was unconscious.
Bystanders do nothing:
As the attack was happening, the complaint states a "group of five or six male bystanders" approached, but did not physically stop Johnson.
The footage reportedly shows Johnson leaning against a cement wall and dropping the table leg while bystanders surrounded him. He then got up and walked away without any of the bystanders attempting to stop him.
Victim speaks out:
While recovering at the hospital, the woman told police she did not know the man who attacked her.
The woman added that "it appeared that Johnson was upset that she was screaming as it was ruining the situation for him," according to the complaint.
She also said she "saw joy in Johnson's eyes" during the attack, the complaint states.
The woman is now recovering from a fractured skull, multiple fractures in her right arm, an eye that was swollen shut, a concussion and injuries to her head that had to be closed with staples.
Previous attack:
Johnson was previously charged with assault for allegedly following a woman near Government Plaza in Minneapolis and punching her when she turned around.
That woman also told police she did not know Johnson.
The Source: This story uses information gathered from court documents filed in Ramsey County Court and Hennepin County Court.