A brutal beating captured on video.
In the video, a man can be seen repeatedly punching another man in the head.
The victim’s injuries were so severe he was in a coma for more than a week.
The assault happened in a plaza near 16th street and Old Dixie Highway, just a few steps from Flithy’s Fine Cocktail and Beer where the altercation started.
A security camera captured the entire beating that shows the victim helpless.
The video shows the victim protecting his head as he’s punched in the torso and pushed to the ground.
The suspect keeps swinging even though the victim 36-year-old Steven Ronshaugen isn’t fighting back.
“This guy didn’t deserve this,” Lt. John Pedersen said.
Pedersen is one of the detectives who investigated this case.
“It was apparent that the victim was not aggressively trying to fight or attack the suspect and he went down and was repeatedly struck and kicked by the suspect,” Pedersen said.
It was a total of 26 punches.
The suspect then stomps on Ronshaugen, lands another punch, kicks him again and then walks away.
“To me, when I watched it the first time, I said to myself, ‘This appears to be attempted murder,’” Pedersen said.
He said the suspect, 32-year-old Christopher Browning, and Ronshaugen had some sort of disagreement inside Flithy’s before the attack.
Once the video surfaced, Vero Beach police arrested Browning for attempted second-degree murder.
“We have seen cases where people have been brutally attacked in different ways, but this physical attack with their hands and feet using them as a weapon. I haven’t seen something this vicious,” Pedersen said.
Court records state Ronshaugen suffered a traumatic brain injury. The Indian River County State Attorney’s Office said he has since been released from the hospital.
The victim’s sister told CBS12 News her brother is doing better.
As for Browning, he is currently out on bond.
He pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm.
