A country music festival turned into a nightmare for an 18-year-old from Alabama, USA, who was left unconscious with a broken nose after being brutally attacked by a group of men.
Reid Watts was attending the “Rock the South” music festival with friends when he was accused of spilling a drink on another concertgoer. This accusation escalated into a violent assault by a group of “30-40 year-old” men.
According to Watts, he tried to reason with his accuser, even shaking hands with them in an attempt to defuse the situation. However, as his friends left for the restroom, he was ambushed from behind and rendered unconscious.
“Some dude said I was spilling beer on him or something along those things, and then I talked to him because I didn’t have a drink on me at the time, like I didn’t have anything, I talked to him and shook his hand because I thought everything was okay because I explained to him it wasn’t me,” Watts recalled to WBMA.
“Then a few minutes later, I was walking back and got hit in the back of the head, then I hit the ground and tried to cover my face then I got knocked out and that was really all I remember,” Watts added.
His girlfriend, Katie Hudgins, expressed her trauma at witnessing the attack and seeing her boyfriend being robbed and assaulted by a group of men.
“It was horrible, I’m traumatized, I felt so helpless, because I couldn’t get in there and get to him and I had to sit there and watch him get beat up while he’s unconscious, it’s horrible,” Hudgins said.
The assault only ended when festival security intervened and rushed Watts to safety, according to his mother, Kaci Howard, who appealed for help in locating the attackers.
“Please help me find the cowards who did this to my son tonight at Rock the South. There were several grown men (30s-40s) who jumped on him and beat him unconscious while his girlfriend stood there screaming and crying for help,” Howard shared in a Facebook post.
Watts was taken to a local hospital where he was examined and found to have a fractured nose, concussion, and severe bruising.
“He has a fractured nose, concussion, stitches, knots the size of softballs on the back of his head. He never even saw it coming,” Howard added.
“The part that we are the most concerned with is that portion where Mr. Reid is on the ground and it’s obvious that he is unconscious, you can that his legs are not moving and he continues to be punched in the face,” Chief David Nassetta of the Cullman Police Department revealed.
In response, the festival organizers offered a $10,000 reward and lifetime tickets for any information leading to the arrest of Watts’ attackers.
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Organizers of Rock the South are offering a $10,000 reward plus lifetime tickets to Rock the South for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the physical assault of Reid Watts on Saturday, July 22. – Mike Dubberly GDA (@MikeDubberlyGDA) July 24, 2023
Reid Watts, the 18-year-old victim from the assault at Rock the South spoke with me Sunday over zoom. He has a fractured nose, concussion and a lot of bruising. @abc3340 – Megan Scarano ABC 33/40 (@MScaranoNews) July 24, 2023
