Man lurks behind commuter before ‘pushing him towards moving train’

An unsuspecting commuter had the fright of his life after a stranger sneaked up behind him before allegedly trying to push him onto the tracks.

The passenger was scrolling on his phone when a hooded man attempted to push him in front of a train at the Northgate station in Seattle, Washington.

CCTV captured the moment the stranger lurked behind a pillar just feet from the unsuspecting commuter, who was named in court documents as Peter Walbrun.

The chilling footage shows how the man peeks from behind the elevator, appearing to check for a train.

Then he suddenly lunges at the commuter when the front of a train whizzes towards the platform.

The force of the push almost knocks Mr Walbrun off his feet before he manages to regain his stance.

The pair wrestle just inches from the moving train as the hooded man tries to push him again before escaping.

Mr Walbrun told later he had been reading articles on his phone when he felt the sudden shove.

Police officers later tracked down the alleged assailant following the March 19 incident, which happened shortly before 6pm.

The suspect was named as Elisio Melendez, 26, who was arrested for attempted second-degree murder.

He was reportedly traced to a health facility near the train station.

Melendez allegedly told detectives during questioning that the man in the footage was someone that ‘maybe looked like him’ and ‘my twin that I don’t have,’ Daily Mail reports.

He remains in custody after a $750,000 bond (£563,400) was set.

Melendez has not entered a plea for the charges against him. He was arraigned on Tuesday, with a judge ordering a competency evaluation to determine the defendant’s mental capacity.

Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion described the case as ‘shocking,’ claiming that they ‘unquestionably demonstrate the extreme danger the defendant poses to the public.’

The 26-year-old has not been convicted of any previous crimes, but he faced charges in 2019 over the stabbing of his sister with a kitchen knife in the stomach, when he was charged with assault and domestic violence.

His case was reportedly dismissed in 2021 after being found incompetent to stand trial due to schizophrenia and a history of mental health treatment.

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