Florida Man Arrested After Knife Assault on Child at School Bus Stop

DeLand, Florida police arrested 36-year-old Christopher Steven Schwable on Tuesday after witnesses say he grabbed a middle-school boy by the throat at a school bus stop and then pulled a folding knife on adults who intervened. An adult motorist who saw the alleged choking made a U‑turn, grabbed a toolbox from his truck, and struck Schwable twice after Schwable reportedly produced the knife, then restrained him on the ground until officers arrived and recovered the weapon. The seventh grader, a Southwestern Middle School student, suffered a cut finger and was described by police as visibly distraught, while Schwable was treated for a head wound before being booked on aggravated child abuse and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and held on $5,000 bond. Court records show Schwable, currently homeless, had been released from jail on Jan. 13 after prosecutors dropped separate indecent-exposure and drug-paraphernalia charges, meaning the bus-stop attack came just days after his release. The case underscores recurring public concerns about repeat offenders and the risks children face at otherwise routine locations like neighborhood bus stops.