Waterbury & Watertown, CT

The Willie Bryant McDonald's Restaurant Neck Stabbing

On Tuesday, November 15, during the lunch-time rush, Willie Bryant, Jr., 33, stabbed a 19-year-old female co-worker in the neck with a penknife at the McDonald's Restaurant next to Waterbury's Brass Mill Mall, seriously wounding her. Police say, just before noon, 33 year-old employee, Willie Bryant, suddenly took a pen knife behind one of the prep lines (food-preparation lines) inside the restaurant at the Brass Mill Commons. He then stabbed a 19-year-old co-worker twice in her neck. Mr. Bryant later assaulted an officer at the Waterbury Police Department, according to police.

"It appears the attack [at McDonald's] was totally unprovoked", says Sgt. Chris Corbett. Waterbury police say Bryant has prior charges for assault, larceny, and assault on a police officer. They are trying to figure out what happened this time. "We're still interviewing Mr. Bryant. It does not appear at this time, based on our witness accounts, that anything provoked the attack, we're trying to find out from him what motivated his actions", says Sgt. Corbett. The victim was taken to Saint Mary's Hospital in Waterbury.

The victim at the restaurant, a 19-year-old woman, was working at a drive-through window when she was stabbed twice in the neck around 11:45 a.m., police said. She was in stable condition at Saint Mary's Hospital Tuesday night with puncture wounds to the carotid artery. Her name was not released. The suspected assailant, Willie Bryant Jr., 33, was restrained by other employees until police arrived.

Tuesday evening, Bryant allegedly assaulted a police officer in the jail cell where he was being held. The officer was taken to Saint Mary's Hospital with minor injuries. Bryant, of 17 Arch St., is charged with first-degree assault for the alleged stabbing, and with assault on a police officer and interference with police. His bond, originally set at $200,000, was raised to $500,000 late Tuesday.

Police vehicles blocked entrances and yellow tape surrounded the restaurant for more than an hour while authorities took photographs and interviewed witnesses. Outside, curious drivers passed slowly and would-be customers approached as usual before realizing they had to make new lunch plans. Restaurant employees, gathered near an entrance, said they were instructed by mall security not to speak with reporters.

The motive for the attack was unclear. A surveillance tape of the first drive-through window, where customers pay before receiving food, shows Bryant approaching the victim from behind and stabbing her with no warning, police spokesman Sgt. Christopher Corbett said. "Based on the surveillance video, it appeared unprovoked," he said. There was no indication the two had any relationship outside of work, he added. Police said Bryant used a folding pocketknife in the attack.

Bryant has a substantial criminal record of assault and larceny convictions dating from 1995. Most recently he was convicted of two counts of third-degree assault in 2003, police said. Several men at his listed address declined to comment Tuesday evening. In a written statement, restaurant owner Ted Zafiris called the attack "an unfortunate incident" and directed further inquiries to the police. The restaurant had re-opened by mid-afternoon.

The Harold Lee Lewis Burger King Restaurant Throat Slashing

On Wednesday, November 16, at about 8:00 pm, Harold Lee Lewis, 41, slashed a 34-year-old customer in the throat in the parking lot of the Burger King on Main Street in Watertown, CT, seriously wounding him. The male customer had complained about a food order. Police have charged Mr. Lewis with first-degree assault, after they arrived at the Main Street, fast-food outlet to find the assaulted customer bleeding profusely. The victim is in serious condition at Waterbury Hospital.

The argument started at the drive through window, not last night, but last weekend. The customer apparently got the wrong order on Saturday. When he came back to Burger King last night he complained and got into an argument with an employee [Harold Lee Lewis]. "The employee, in turn, according to witnesses, slashed the victim across the throat with some kind of a sharp cutting instrument," says Lt. R.J. Desena of the Watertown Police Department. That happened in the parking lot in front of the restaurant.

When police got there they found the victim bleeding and in pretty bad shape. They found the employee, identified as 41-year-old Harold Lee Lewis, inside the restaurant. "Witnesses say he had nowhere to go. He was immediately pointed out as the person who made the assault," says Desena. Police say they have a pretty good idea of the kind of weapon that was used to slash the customer and they are starting to get a pretty clear picture of what happened. "We have many witnesses, both customers and employees, and we're still conducting interviews."

Police tell News Channel 8 that they are going to keep their investigation open until they talk to everyone who witnessed this event. The name of the 34-year-old victim has not been released yet; he is listed in critical but stable condition at Waterbury Hospital. Authorities say he may be lucky because the quick response by police and paramedics may have saved his life. Lewis was charged with first degree assault and held on $500,000 bond.

Comment:

I chose to post these two stories because both of them occurred in public places, in full view of many witnesses. It is unusual that someone would assault another person under such circumstances. The Wichita Massacre had no witnesses save the victims and the perpetrators. The Kilgore, Texas duo kidnapped their victims from a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, but killed all of them in an isolated oil-field. Robert Osborn, the bicyclist from Kansas City, was ambushed, and, as far as we know, there were no witnesses. There is no question but that the aforementioned Black males were ruthless killers.

But what kind of a person is not only ruthless but also so lacking in self-control and intelligence that they would attack someone in a public place in front of many people? One need but look at the photographs of the two Black males who committed these crimes - their sullen and surly faces tell the story. The police record of Willie Bryant would almost preclude him from working closely with others. No police record was given for Harold Lee Lewis, but one can presume that he, also, has committed other violent crimes.

And, I chose to post these two stories, despite the fact that we don't know the race of the two victims. And, actually, it doesn't matter. One of the points that we are trying to make to the public is that Black males are violence-prone and quite dangerous. Many of them are capable of attacking anyone, no matter what their race, age or gender. And the motivation for such serious attacks are most often shallow or non-existent: in the one case it was an argument over a food order and in the other case, as the police stated, their seems to have been no provocation at all.

And, it should be pointed out that both of these perpetrators went for the kill - stabbing in the neck and puncturing the carotid artery, which supplies the brain, in the one case, and slashing the throat of the victim, in the other, which likely also cut into the carotid artery. The female victim is in serious condition and the male victim is in critical condition.

In summary: We don't know the tone of voice used when the male victim complained about getting the wrong order, he may have used a civil tone. Because of the difference in racial mentalities, White people are often reluctant to complain to Blacks, because Blacks so often react aggressively. This could have played a role in this case, we may never know.

Concerning Willie Bryant's attack on the female, and his later attack on the police officer, and after reviewing his police record, one almost has to conclude that he is severely anti-social and likely can be classified as a psychopath. The possibility of socializing these two men seems to be very slim. The only alternative is to incarcerate them for as long as possible. The cost to the public for incarcerating someone in the state of Connecticut is about $30,000 per year. That's a lot of money, but what are the alternatives?

The conclusions that can be drawn from these two incidents are that we are not safe anywhere from Black male violence. Be careful about complaining about anything to a Black male, they are liable to react aggressively. And, all employers should do thorough background checks before hiring people; if an applicant has a police record of assaults, they should not be hired for employment where they have to work closely with others.

And finally, never turn your back on a Black male. It is indeed a sad commentary on our society that social conditions such as these have developed, but we must do the best we can under the circumstances. If we refuse to recognize reality, if we deny that that these conditions exist, then we are leaving ourselves open for violence against us. Please take these warning signs seriously.

Yours Faithfully, Liberty