Niceville, FL– An Alabama man with an extensive criminal history is now facing child abuse charges after he attacked several teens at a gas station near the Florida panhandle.
The incident occurred on April 21st in the parking lot at the Boggy Bayou Store on Highway 20 in Niceville.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office says that before the incident, 40-year-old Thomas Keebler had been aggressively tailgating the vehicle full of teens on the highway.
Once the teens pulled into the gas station, Keebler followed them and parked his vehicle in front of theirs to block them in.
Video from the scene shows Keebler “aggressively exiting his truck while enraged,” deputies say.
Keebler then lunged at and tried to hit a passenger in the backseat of the vehicle. The passenger attempted to get out of the vehicle, but Keebler kicked the door multiple times to prevent the passenger from getting out.
Keebler was also said to have pushed a 16-year-old girl to the ground and put another teen in a chokehold before fleeing the scene.
Due to Keebler’s extensive criminal history, authorities were able to identify and make contact with him quickly.
Keebler was said to have turned himself in on Tuesday.
He is charged with battery, criminal mischief, and child abuse.
The teens sustained minor injuries in the attack.