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Reports: Miami 'zombie' attacker may have been using 'bath salts'
A naked man who chewed off the face of another man in what is being called a zombie-like attack may have been under the influence of "bath salts," a drug referred to as the new LSD, according to reports from CNN affiliates in Miami.
Why 'bath salts' are dangerous
The horrific attack occurred Saturday and was only stopped after a police officer shot the attacker several times, killing him.
'Zombie apocalypse' trending as bad news spreads quickly
Larry Vega witnessed the attack on Miami's MacArthur Causeway. He told CNN affiliate WSVN he saw one naked man chewing off the face of another naked man.
Rudy Eugene
"The guy was like tearing him to pieces with his mouth, so I told him, 'Get off!'" Vega told WSVN. "You know it's like the guy just kept eating the other guy away, like ripping his skin."
"It was just a blob of blood," WSVN quoted Vega as saying. "You couldn't really see, it was just blood all over the place."
Vega said he flagged down a passing police officer.
"When the officer approached him, told him to stop, pointed a gun at him, he turned around and growled like a wild animal and kept eating at the man's face," Fraternal Order of Police President Armando Aguilar told CNN affiliate WPLG.
The attacker was identified by Miami-Dade Police as 31-year-old Rudy Eugene. Miami-Dade referred CNN to Miami Police for all other details of the investigation.
Augilar said he suspects the attacker was under the influence of "bath salts." Four other drug use instances in Miami-Dade bear resemblances to Saturday's attack, he told WPLG.
"It causes them to go completely insane and become very violent" and take off their clothes, Augilar told WPLG.
Dr. Paul Adams, an emergency room physician at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, told CNN affiliate WFOR that the drug makes users delirious. They exhibit elevated temperatures and extreme physical strength, Adams said.
“I took care of a 150 pound individual who you would have thought he was 250 pounds,” WFOR quoted Adams as saying. “It took six security officers to restrain the individual.”
Adams said users have been known to use their jaws as weapons, according to WFOR.
According to a 2011 report from the National Institute of Drug Abuse, bath salts contain amphetamine-like chemicals.
"Doctors and clinicians at U.S. poison centers have indicated that ingesting or snorting 'bath salts' containing synthetic stimulants can cause chest pains, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, agitation, hallucinations, extreme paranoia, and delusions," according to the NIDA report.
In October, the Drug Enforcement Administration made possession of the stimulants in bath salts, Mephedrone, 3,4 methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and Methylone, illegal under an emergency order. The order lasts for a year with a possible six-month extension.
The stimulants have been placed under restrictions or banned in 37 states, according to a DEA press release.
The victim of Saturday's attack, whom police have not identified, was in critical condition at Jackson Memorial on Monday, according to the WPLG report. Augilar told WPLG that 75% to 80% of his face was missing.
Eugene had an arrest record, mostly misdemeanors, including a battery charge from when he was 16 that was later dropped, according to the Miami Herald.
He had been married but divorced in 2007, WPLG reported. His former wife told the station that Eugene had been violent toward her.
Homeless people near where the attack took place said Eugene was often seen around the area looking confused, according to WPLG.
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Well since the won't let me post what I really think, I'll just talk about kittens and sweet little bunnies.
Only bunnys on bath salts. Thank you.
Nobody cares what you think.
When the government tries to push their propoganda onto the public with sayings like "marijuana is a very dangerous drug" and "Bathsalts are the new LSD" everyone knows they are full of dung and will continue on with their drug using ways. It's like having a less than intelligent 3rd grade school teacher telling the class that a dolphin is a fish, all the kids know the teacher is wrong and will not listen to anything they have to say ever again.
Is he by any chance Obama's other son??
All of the characteristics of "bath salts" described here - the superhuman strength, the heightened heart rate, the delusions, the violence - were true of PCP back in the 1980s. I never head of anyone trying to eat another's flesh, though. I wonder whether that idea was somewhere in Eugene's damaged mind because of the recent flood of zombie movies and tv shows.
I like to think these drugs help weed out the stupid and useless, bu the sad truth is they take a lot of innocent people down at the same time.
If Obummer had a son he'd look just like Rudy Eugene. In fact exactly like him. This can't be stressed enough. Wheres the race baters Jackson and Sharpton on this one? If rudy was other than black you'd hear em'. MPD did a excellent job on this one and I'm now inspired by them. Keep up the great work. And lets vote these commy libs OUT! there I got that out now I feel much better LOL
Subway. Eat flesh.
•Facepalm•.... +1
tootally what he was thinking lolz
This really sounds like bad police work. There needs to be an investigation. The witness quoted in the vid says nothing about any attempt to use non lethal force. Why didnt he try and draw the crazed man off the victim and then mace him or taser or both. He is supposed to be carrying a club, or that asp thing. It does not immediately appear that the use of deadly force was justified. Horrific scene yes, mentally ill person yes, these are things city cops deal with occasionally although the reality is the overwhelming majority of police will never encounter such a scene. Given the variety of non lethal means at his disposal the law enforcement "executives" immediate use of the firearm appears unjustified. Law enforcement is not being trained in non violenct conflict resolution. The "officer" should have been subjected to immediate blood, urine, AND HAIR testing. All illegal drugs should be tested for but in particular STEROIDS if there is anything out of the ordinary the officer should be charged with a crime and summarily fired with loss of any pension. We are curious as to whether "officer" is an NRA member? Does he belong to any other firearm clubs? If so which ones?
You have got to be joking....I would have shot him dead too! He was killing the other guy! Eating him alive. If that doesn't justify the use of deadly force, then I don't know what does...
@ I AM CITIZEN nonlethal options go out the window when there is an immediate and imminent threat to another person. plus, you are an idiot to imply this CIO should have gotten within arms reach of this guy. he had to be shot 6 times before he was stopped. if they wrestled and he got the cops gun what do you think would've happened. I'm fairly liberal but you are to liberals what limbaugh is to conservatives. chickenhawks.
Maybe he should of eaten your face off? Let's see how you would like it....
The officer asked/ordered the man to stop eating the guys face. He refused, kept munching and the officer shot him. What exactly is your problem. Your comment is EXACTLY what is wrong in this country.
Hindsight's always 20/20.
@ I AM CITIZEN nonlethal options go out the window when there is an immediate and imminent threat to another person. plus, you are an idiot to imply this Cop should have gotten within arms reach of this guy. he had to be shot 6 times before he was stopped. if they wrestled and he got the cops gun what do you think would've happened. I'm fairly liberal but you are to liberals what limbaugh is to conservatives. chickenhawks.
Really? I kept waiting for your punchline somewhere – but it never came. I can't believe people like you and your amazing reality-avoidance. Read the story again. Sometimes you anything goes folks need to take a cold shower and wake up.
There is no non-lethal use of force. Only less lethal. Even pepper spray in certain situations is lethal.
That is the singularly most absurd thing I've ever read in my life. You take the cake for the most ridiculous pile of verbiage that any human has assembled into one moronic excuse for a thought! Congratulations!
You can't be serious?
Sorry but I am a very liberal person and not one to support extreme use of force but the police had every reason to shoot the guy. He ate 80% of someone's face! At any point he could have bitten into an artery and that would be the ball game. Then you would be on here complaining about police inaction.
And I am fine with a segment of society "liking drugs" right up until your "like" of drugs impacts someone else's well-being.
Hey we will make sure that YOU are called out on the next one. That way you can try talking nice to the man and hope he does no chew your face off. Get real Guy. You have lived in a liberal bubble toooooo long.
Maybe you'll get your face eaten, and see what you have to say after that.
The officer acted totally correct.
"The victim of Saturday's attack, whom police have not identified, was in critical condition at Jackson Memorial on Monday"
im sorry but the officer not only acted correctly he may have saved the victims life waiting and trying non lethal force went out the window when trying could cause the victim to die. Your argument is flawed and wrong.
Are you nuts? I have two police officers for Son in Laws, I would never suspect that they did not do their job to the best of their ability. Are you so messed up that you automatically think the police are the problem? Man you are one sick pup.
DOA is what the Cop did and righty so.
I should add, for purposes of full-disclosure, that I am a supporter of Barack Obama.
Ahhhhh your joking right. Wait till something like this hits your world. It took me and 5 other Marines to hold down another Marine who weighed 150 lbs. He had eaten 7 Vicks Inhaler sticks (waxy thing inside inhaler) that sent him into a mental state I have never seen. Super human strength and we handcuffed him to a metal bed and he actual bend the frame thrashing about. Finally I hit him in the head with the butt of an M16. His brain was fried! We were real close to shooting him in the head. So drugs are good! Police are back! Yeah.....
You are seriously a nut! The officer was saving the life of someone being brutally attacked by a senseless lunatic. He didn't have the luxury to consider alternatives and less lethal actions would simply have lead to that officer being similiarly attacked.
really...Deadly force, the intended, natural, and probable consequence of which is to produce death, is used when a deputy or another person is in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury...sounds justified to me...or maybe just common sense...hmmm...baton thingy?....you obviously don't have much knowledge of police work.
He shot him once and it didn't stop him, he just kept on eating the other guy (in another article from the AP), so how would mace have stopped him? If a bullet doesn't stop you, nothing will. And the officer saved the victim's life, if he'd waited any longer, the victim may have been hurt too badly to survive, may still have been. And the officer couldn't know that if he drew the crazed man off the victim, that he wouldn't then turn on the officer, initiating deadly force in response to deadly force. It's sad that someone had to die for this, but I would consider it a possible consequence of using illegal drugs that drug users should keep in mind before they put their lives and others in danger.
"I AN CITIZEN" > You are obviously a limp-wristed, cop-hating weenie who routinely takes the side of the terrorists, killers and criminals. Just because you are a spineless coward doesnt give you the right to criticize a quick-thinking cop who had the foresight and courage to shout this bloodthirsty cannibal.
It is a good thing that hypercritical cowards like you are not police officers...otherwise the terrorists, cannibals and murderers would have won LONG AGO.
Yeah, dude... I'm as pacifist as they come, but ... come on. You can't possibly criticize the police on this one. Nobody is trained to deal with something like that. Not even in Florida!
Are you serious? Saving another's life in an emergency situation is one of the reasons why police carry firearms, and the best one. Would you like to prosecute him based on his NRA membership? I'd like to jail all Huffington Post readers. The article did say he tried to "draw him off", and he turned and growled at him, while the other man was screaming for his life, I'm sure. I'm sure your moral high ground a*& would have let the poor man die a horrible death, then put the perp in rehab for 6 months with a pass. Please.
Obviously you have not worked in law enforcement before because if you did you would understand the use of lethal force. You would also understand that tasers aren't issued to every officer. You would also understand that you have the right, even as a civilian, to use deadly force against a person if someone's life or a third person's life is in jeopardy. With all that you said in your statement one would assume that if you were there as a civilian you would have done nothing but called the police, then criticize their actions. Learn more about what you are talking about. Unfortunately you can't taser someone for ignorance or you sir would be.
To I am Citizen:
Something tells me you'd feel much differently if a rabid, naked man had you pinned down and was chewing your face off. Would you prefer the officer use mace or a baton first to see if that stopped the meal being made out of your face? Maybe a few more verbal warnings to cease and desist? This was obviously a life-threatening situation to the victim (surely you don't contend that having someone eat your face is not potentially deadly - reports state that the victim is unrecognizable), and the officer made the right decision.
I would love to see how you would have handled seeing a naked man eat another mans face. The police officers priority is public safety. I fully believe that the police acted in quick responsible manner.
Did you not read the story?! The man was cannibalizing another living human being with bare teeth, growling like an animal, and did not flinch when shot repeatedly. Your lack of common sense is off the hook!
Non-lethal force? You probably would have wet yourself while running away, yet you blame the cop for not being 'humane' enough for you.
New Rule – Chew off someones face...you're going to get shot. Multiple times.
I'm not a cop apologist, but maybe we should get rid of police so that you can see the world for what it is. When you take over just remember to talk to them first, then subdue them, but never protect the victim by using lethal force. If you do manage to capture them, all you need to do is feed, care, and councel them for the rest of their lives. Whew, glad you're there for us.
I would imagine that the gentleman whose face was being eaten off would disagree with your assessment of the inappropriateness of the cop's actions. Additionally, in my book, animal-like growling at you while pausing from eating another human being counts as a threat of bodily harm and, thus, validates the officer's decision to pull the tigger – even multiple times, given the guy's physical response. Btw, I had to read your comment twice because I initially though it was sarcasm due to how ridiculous it was.
I was with you about attempting to use non-lethal force until the NRA crack. At that point you showed a complete lack of rational understanding of the NRA, and showwed how you were really reacting to and spreading anti-gun propaganda . Tis a pity that your agenda driven smear over-rode your otherwise reasonable post
The officer did the right thing. He can't afford to get within arms reach of this maniac. Being bitten is a serious and possibly deadly wound. The officer called on the man to stop with no result. Shooting various non-lethal areas of the attackers body was the right thing to do. When those shots didn't stop the attack a head shot was appropriate.
There's no crime here beyond the one perpetrated by the man that ATE another man's face.
Maybe he didnt ask please enough times. You need to be tested for drugs. If that were you getting your face eaten, would you like the officer to go through every step on his belt? Maybe call a supervisor or city council to assess the situtation and ensure that he is taking proper steps while this obviously crazed individual is moving on to dessert? You obviously (hopefully) wrote your post before your drugs or alcohol wore off. Was this zombie a buddy of yours? Your dealer? Your customer? It amazies me that anyone would say dealdly force was not justified. The term "deadly force" by florida statutes means: force that is likely to cause death or great bodily harm. If getting your face chewed off by a person is not considered great bodily harm in your book, you need to do some soul searching, but maybe youre a zombie without a soul yourself. I hope you havent had the opportunity to procreate.
My guess is that if you had someone sitting on your chest ripping and tearing your face off with his teeth you would – if you could make anything more than a gurgling sound – be yelling at the officer "SHOOT HIM! SHOOT HIM!" as opposed to: "Officer, I still have one ear, an eye and my lower lip left, take your time and try the taser"
If you read the description of what the drug does to the user, you would have understood that a tazer or non-lethal means would just have made him angry. The cop probably had been briefed on the drug and its effects, so in order to try to save the victim from being killed had to use deadly force. People like you are so very naive about the violence and evil that exists in this world, you are a sheep/victim waiting for a crime. I hope for your sake the cops or a NRA card carrying gun owner will be around to save you when you come face to face with a wolf.
Just what we need. ...another armchair lawyer.
Anyone with law enforcement experience will tell you that use of deadly force is authorized when the life of another person is in imminent danger. An attacker eating someone else's eyeballs clearly fits into that category. It makes no difference that the attacker was unarmed.
Would you want the officers to stand back and wait for the mace to take effect if the victim were your relative? I doubt it.
hello mr. I AM A CITIZEN if u paid attention you would have noticed that it was stated that the officer asked the man numerous times to GET OFF HIS FACE!, the man just growled at him then kept 'eating'. and only then did he shoot the man. so next time you wanna try to bash on someone, make sure you're credibility isn't equally or even more so bashable
Wouldn't it be easier to legalize regular dope? you know the kind that has predictable effects? I have never heard of grass, acid, mescaline or shrooms inspring nekkid cannibalsitic snackification
was the cop's name Chris Redfield?
i think it was actually claire this time
I don't know...I think Dean and Sam need to be call in on this one. :/ Pretty sick stuff! Hope the other guy makes it! My heart does go out to the witness and the police officer that had to deal with this. How would you ever get that out of your nightmares? 🙁
This was directed at Palintwit.
White Cop Shoots Unarmed Black Man!
omg. 😉
he wasn't unarmed, he had his teeth ;D
We are great at sending our troops all over the world to fight the enemy, unfortunatly the real enemy is here at home. We have been breeding Zombies for a long time now and all has to do with drugs. Not only our young populations taking illigal drugs but they are producing and raising kids while on drugs. Was a juror on a murder case, I witnessed how children of drug addicts behave in life.
Another reason to carry concealed. Looks like the only thing that actually stopped him. Don't know bout you, but I like my face and the faces of my family.
How about Demonic possession as a cause? If it looks like demonic possession, growls like demonic possession, perhaps it is demonic possession.
Agreed dear.
agreed. catholics believe that stuff too.