New Jersey Man Assaults Passenger on Frontier Airlines, Ends Up with Black Eye and Battery Charge
- Victor Nwoko
- Jul 3
- 2 min read
A Newark, New Jersey man is facing battery charges after a bizarre and unprovoked mid-flight attack on a fellow passenger ended with him bloodied and in police custody upon landing in Miami.
Ishaan Sharma, 21, allegedly assaulted Keanu Evans without warning as a Frontier Airlines flight from Philadelphia neared Miami International Airport. Evans, who was seated directly behind Sharma, said the incident escalated after he noticed Sharma muttering to himself and making ominous statements.
“He was doing this dark laugh—like, ‘Ha ha ha ha ha,’” Evans recalled. “He said, ‘You punt, mortal man, if you challenge me, it will result in your death.’”
According to witnesses and video captured during the flight, Sharma became enraged when Evans pressed the flight attendant call button. Sharma then stood up and reached over the seat to grab Evans by the throat.
Cellphone footage shows Evans quickly retaliating, delivering a series of punches to Sharma in self-defense. Other passengers can be heard pleading, “Let him go! Stop, let him go,” as the confrontation unfolded.
Photos taken after the incident show Sharma with a severe black eye and a cut above his left eyebrow. Evans sustained minor scratches but expressed remorse over the situation.
“It makes me feel bad because I don’t want people to get the wrong idea about who I am as a person,” Evans said.
Sharma was arrested upon arrival in Miami-Dade County and is facing a battery charge. His attorneys claim he was merely meditating and suggested that Evans reacted negatively to the practice.
“My client is from a religion where he was meditating,” said defense attorney Renee Gordon. “Unfortunately, the passenger behind him did not like that.”
Sharma now faces a court date in Florida as the investigation into the in-flight assault continues.
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