A Florida man was arrested Monday after he allegedly strangled a 10-year-old boy while playing with his son.
The altercation reportedly occurred when Robert Marc’s 8-year-old son was fighting with a water gun at Gwen Margolis Park. according to Local 10 News. Marc allegedly grabbed the child’s 10-year-old playmate around the neck and violently shook him.
According to the arrest report, Marc “ [the boy’s] They have difficulty breathing and their airways narrow.” NBC Miami report.
Video of the incident taken by a bystander shows Marc strangling the 10-year-old boy to death.
According to the outlet, the victim’s father reported the incident to police after receiving a call from his son, and officers who responded to the scene noticed red marks and scratches on the victim’s neck. (Related article: Lawyer claims mother who allegedly strangled 3 children was ‘overdosing on drugs’)
There had been ongoing issues and a disagreement between the two boys before Marc attacked the 10-year-old, Local 10 reported, citing an arrest report.
“Two children were playing normally in one of our parks, and at some point they got into a child’s play type of altercation with each other. As far as we know, nothing violent occurred. That’s when one of the children’s parents decided to step in and take matters into their own hands,” Sergeant Melissa Polo with the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department told NBC Miami. “He went ahead and approached the other child and began to violently choke this child, which resulted in this child becoming very frightened, crying and very upset.”
Marc was arrested and charged with strangulation and felony child abuse. according to Miami-Dade County Inmate Records.
“When the officers detained him, he basically spontaneously told the officers, ‘Yes, I know what I did, I needed to teach him a lesson,'” Polo told NBC Miami.
The 60-year-old man is being held on $5,000 bail, according to inmate records.
