SEATTLE — A man has been charged in the brutal attack to a stranger who was on his way to work at the Ballard QFC early Saturday morning.
Solomon Wilson Prince was charged Thursday with two counts of assault for the attack on Moses Brudnyy, and a Good Samaritan who stepped in to help Brudnyy.
According to charging documents filed by the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, Prince was outside exercising when he encountered Brudnyy walking to work in the area of 14th Avenue NW and NW 56th Street, close to the Ballard Market.
Prince told investigators that the two shared a "head nod" and then started fighting.
"Prince could not recall who threw the first punch," court documents said.
Brudnyy told KING 5 on Wednesday that an African American man, who investigators identified as Prince, asked if he supported the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I was just like, ‘Yeah, man, Black Lives Matter. Like 100% I agree.’ Before I could even say anything, before I could even finish up what I was saying, he like reached back and absolutely started punching me,” Brudnyy said.
Brudnyy was punched multiple times and suffered a concussion and facial fractures. He was taken to the hospital and is recovering.
Before the fight was over, two people saw what was happening and pulled Prince off of Brudnyy, according to the charging documents. Prince also punched and bit one of those people, and accused them of being racist, witnesses told investigators.
In court documents, Prince alleged that Brudnyy called him the "N-word," but Brudnyy had no recollection of how the fight started due to his head injuries.
Prince's bail was set at $300,000 and he's scheduled for an arraignment on Aug. 19.