Good Samaritans rush to help man attacked in Center City

CENTER CITY (WTXF) - Part of being a reporter, especially during overnights when it's dark, involves always being alert and aware of your surroundings.

That's what happened when FOX 29's Lauren Johnson was live at the Kimmel Center reporting on a swearing-in ceremony slated for Tuesday morning.

When the FOX 29 crew hopped back in its truck, it noticed an ambulance stop in the street with the lights on. No one got out. Moments later, a Jeep pulled up right next to the ambulance.

From the window, Lauren Johnson could see a man lying in the middle of Broad Street. She wondered why no one was helping him. Then, he started flailing his arms and legs before he sat up and she realized he was completely naked.

At some point, he stood up and started running. One of the female emergency responders hopped out of the ambulance to try to distract the man. At the same time, the news crew from NBC 10 had raced over. Photographer Kristen was armed with her tripod and started beating it against the metal barricades.

The man noticed both women and moved as if he were going to jump over the barricade. So they retreated, and he continued to throw punches to the helpless man on the ground.

Meanwhile, Lauren was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher wondering how much longer it would take police to arrive. At the time, an officer passing from another agency was flagged down.

All of this took place while a few good Samaritans raced over to hold the man down until Philadelphia police showed up.

One of the men said he saw it all happening from the third floor of a nearby building. Another man was dressed in a suit with a Kimmel Center name tag.

Matt, a reporter at Channel 10, helped move the barricades around the man to isolate him.

Eventually, the man was handcuffed. He was still resisting officers when he was put on a stretcher and taken away.

The victim was alert and talking before he was taken away from the scene with a bloody and swollen face.