Background: The Willow Grove Park Mall in Abington Township, Pennsylvania (Google Maps). Inset: Angel Ortiz (Abington Township Police Department).
A man in a Pennsylvania mall was coming down the escalator when he heard teenage girls making fun of how he smelled, and he stabbed one of them, authorities say.
Angel Ortiz, 23, faces charges including aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, harassment, and possession of an instrument of crime with intent, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show. He is in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility on a $50,000 bail.
On Wednesday at about 2 p.m., a 14-year-old girl and her friends were riding down an escalator inside the Willow Grove Park Mall in Abington Township, Pennsylvania, which is just north of Philadelphia. Ortiz was right behind them, according to a criminal complaint obtained by area NBC affiliate WCAU.
One of the girls reportedly made a comment that another teen smelled and then turned to Ortiz, accusing him of having the foul odor. He reacted angrily and started yelling at them, the girl said.
"Why don't you hit me?" Ortiz allegedly said several times to the girl. According to police, surveillance footage showed Ortiz walking away from the girls before the 14-year-old followed him and then appeared to hit him on the head.
Ortiz reportedly responded by swiping back at her with a knife in his hand. He said he didn't mean to stab her, only to get her to "back off," but she ended up with wounds on both her arms, from which she was bleeding.
The Abington Township Police Department reported arriving at the mall just before 2:30 p.m. following a report that a female had been assaulted by a male armed with a knife. The girl, "who had sustained multiple lacerations from an edged weapon," was brought to an area hospital where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Officers spotted Ortiz nearby. He allegedly said that after the fight with the teen, he went to a nearby Chipotle restaurant to "cool off" and wait for the bus, per WCAU. He was arrested with two pocket knives on him, police said.
Officers noted that the suspect and victim did not know each other before the incident.
Ortiz had a preliminary arraignment on Thursday. He is expected back in court for a preliminary hearing on April 29.