The victims of an random attack in NoMa on Wednesday were outraged to hear the man they say punched them was released within hours.
Six people -- including five women -- were walking in the Northwest D.C. neighborhood about 5 p.m. Wednesday when they were each punched by a man, they told police.
The attacker tried to overturn a man in a wheelchair and yank a baby out of a woman's arms, one of the victims told News4.
Alan Martin, 24, was identified by the victims and charged -- with a misdemeanor citation for simple assault and then released back onto the street, according to police documents.
He displayed signs of having used synthetic drugs, police said.
One victim, who was visiting from Pennsylvania and asked not to be named, described Martin, of Northeast D.C., as "deranged."
"After the police officers apprehended him and brought him over to where we were so we could identify him, he was in the back of a police truck and he was just crazy -- flailing his arms, screaming," the woman said.
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"It seemed like he had no idea why he was back in the truck and couldn't remember what had happened."
The office of Ward 5 Councilman Kenyan McDuffie, who represents the area, will look into the matter, a representative said.
