15-year-old boy attacked at a movie theater in Collier County

Published: Updated:
movie theater
Town Center 6 where the alleged assault happened.

A man attacks a 15-year-old boy at a movie theater in Southwest Florida.

Edwin, the victim said, “it all happened so fast. You really don’t process everything until like the moment already passed. And everyone was like woah what just happened.”

Collier County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Carl Pukin who they say was holding a child and grabbing the victim.

Pukin says the teen knocked into his child.

Edwin said he would have apologized if he had known he bumped into Pukin’s child.

“We’re walking out of the theater and the guy comes to him saying you bumped into my kids and he’s like ” I didn’t bump into your kid. And he’s like ‘yeah you did’ and grabs him by the throat and slams him down to the ground with his child in his arms,” said Edwin’s sister-in-law.

Edwin and his sister-in-law asked that their identity be protected because of fear of family retribution.

In the video, you can see a man holding a child using his free hand to grab someone by the throat and take him to the ground.

The video comes from surveillance cameras inside Towne Centre 6 on June 10.

“And we’re like what the hell is going on, a lot of people were there witnessing everything going on,” said Edwin’s sister-in-law.

Witnesses to the scary scene separated the man and the teenager.

After that Pukin left with his wife and kids.

“Who does that to a child, especially with your own child in our arm over something that could’ve been like ‘ hey, apologize to my child ‘ instead of choking him down,” said Edwin’s sister-in-law.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.