Man wanted for pair of violent, random attacks on same day in Gwinnett County arrested

WSBTV.com News Staff
·1 min read
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Duluth police have arrested a violent suspect wanted for randomly attacking and injuring two people on the same day in the same area before running away from a shopping center.

On Tuesday, a 16-year-old leaving a Kroger told police that a stranger punched him in the face, leaving him bloodied in front of the store on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and Pleasant Hill Road around 4 p.m.

“I look up and next thing I know he punched me and I’m just bloody in my face,” said the 16-year-old victim told Channel 2′s Gwinnett Bureau Chief Matt Johnson over the phone. “I couldn’t really see anything because there was a lot of blood in my face.”

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About an hour later, Duluth police say the same suspect brutally assaulted a man working at a car wash at the nearby Shell gas station. The violent attack left the victim with a broken back, according to police.

Police released a video of the attack in hopes of identifying the suspect. On Monday, investigators confirmed to Johnson that they arrested 37-year-old Warren Crayton on aggravated assault charges.

Police said they did not have a clear motive for what led to Crayton’s attacks.

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Johnson learned that this was not Crayton’s first arrest.

Channel 2 Action News previously reported on the Duluth man’s felony charges after police said he sent threatening texts that reference bombs, terrorists and ISIS.

Police charged Crayton with felony terroristic threats after verifying he had sent the texts. Gwinnett County court records show this is an open case.

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