If you get into a heated altercation with another person, it’s probably best not to turn your back completely as you walk away.
Horrifically, a man in Baltimore learned that lesson the hard way after he was socked from behind with a brick.
Video footage that has gone viral shows the assailant running up to the victim from behind Sunday evening and then striking him in the head with the brick. The man on the receiving end of the brick then falls head first onto the pavement.
The shocking attack took place after a “loud argument” between two men, according to a statement from an unnamed witness included in a police incident report.
The witness told investigators that as one of the men walked away, the other grabbed a couple of bricks and struck him with one, according to a report in the Baltimore Sun.
Police responded at 6:40 p.m. to Hamburg Street in the Sharp-Leadenhall neighborhood, the paper reported.
An officer found a “pool of blood” on the sidewalk but did not locate the victim. The witness told police the attacker fled from the scene.
“It happened so fast,” one witness, who did not want to be named, said. “When I saw him running I thought he was running to talk to the guy.”
City Councilman Eric Costello, who represents the area, condemned the assault and asked people with information to come forward.
“It should go without saying that the complete depravity to human life illustrated in this video is absolutely disgusting and should be investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Costello wrote on Facebook.
Police are still searching for both the victim and the suspect.
The incident comes as cities across America continue to experience sharp spikes in violent crime following the decision by many to cut police funding.