‘We don’t see this:’ Volusia woman fends off attack during evening walk, K-9 tracks teen into woods

A 17-year-old was arrested after deputies say he attacked a woman walking along a Volusia County sidewalk and tried to drag her away, an assault the sheriff said could have ended in sexual violence or death.

“This is a one-off,” Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood said. “We don’t see this. That’s what makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up when you see something like this.”

The attack happened at around 5:30 P.M. Tuesday along Blue Lake Avenue in Deland.

Deputies say the woman crossed paths with the teen, identified as Elijah McCarrell, earlier on her walk. She gave him a polite wave, according to an arrest report, but he did not wave back and followed her.

Later, deputies say, he struck her from behind, knocked to the ground and pulled down her shirt.

A 911 caller told dispatchers a woman flagged heer down after the attack and reported the suspect fled.

“This lady just flagged me down, and saying that this man just attacked her, and he just took off on dirt bike and she has a bloody lip and a mark on her neck,” the caller said.

Chitwood said the victim did “everything right” in fighting back.

The arrest report states that the woman scratched the suspect with her fingernails, then chased after him while screaming for help.

The sheriff credited her actions with preventing a more serious outcome.

“This is of those things that if he would’ve gained control of her, not only would she have been sexually assaulted, there’s a good possibility could’ve ended up dead,” Chitwood said.

Body camera video released by the sheriff’s office shows deputies and a K-9 team tracking the teen into dense woods near the residential neighborhood, where he was taken into custody.

In the video, a deputy can be heard yelling, “Hands, show me your hands” as the K-9 is biting him.

The suspect is crying and wailing, and responds, “I give up.”

Chitwood said Volusia County residents should not assume they are insulated from violent crime, and should always be ready to defend themselves.

“To the neighbors, you just can’t be lulled to sleep with a sense of security that I live in a very safe neighborhood and they do, anything is possible,” he said.

Chitwood also said McCarrell had been arrested a few months earlier for loitering and prowling and received only a civil citation.

He said the case reflected how dangerous early warning signs can be.

“This is something that you have to monitor forever,” Chitwood said. “This is where serial killers and serial rapists come from.”

Asked whether the teen should be charged as an adult, Chitwood said prosecutors should pursue the option that results in secure supervision and the most severe penalty.

“Wherever we get the biggest bang for our buck in court,” he said. “Is it charging him as a adult or charging him as juvenile? Wherever we’re going to get the biggest bang where he’s going to be put into a secure facility and be monitored for psychological issues and all those other things.”

The Sheriff’s Office said McCarrell was taken from the hospital to the Department of Juvenile Justice.