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Man Arrested After Video Of Him Punching 11-Year-Old Girl At Asheville Mall Goes Viral

David Steven Bell was booked on assault on a child under the age of 12 and two counts of assault on a female charges.

A North Carolina man has been arrested after a video showed him punching an 11-year-old Black girl to the ground with a forceful left hook.

51-year-old David Steven Bell, who weighs a hefty 250 pounds, assaulted the victim and her friends outside the Asheville Mall on Saturday. Although it remains unclear what events preceded the attack, the video starts with the 6-foot-5 man shoving one of the girls during the exchange.

This prompted the 11-year-old to run towards Bell with her hands raised. Instead of just holding the tiny girl back, Bell knocked the girl to the ground with tremendous force. The other girls immediately began screaming and ran back inside the mall.

Bell was booked on three charges, including assault on a child under the age of 12 and two counts of assault on a female for allegedly shoving two 13-year-old girls, according to arrest warrants obtained by the Asheville Citizen Times.

After the video went viral, mall spokeswoman Catharine Wells told the local paper that they are reviewing the incident and determining what security changes, if any, need to be made at the Asheville Mall.

“Some measures are visible to the public and others are not,” Wells told the Asheville Citizen Times. “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.”

Video of the incident can be seen below:

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