In a bloody and apparently random attack, a man attacked a sleeping passenger on a United Airlines flight Monday, according to court documents.

The FBI says Everett Chad Nelson, who was sitting at 35F, went to the bathroom about two hours into a flight from San Francisco, California to Dulles, Virginia.

While returning to his seat after using the toilet, he stopped at seat 12F where a man was sleeping and started hitting him repeatedly.

Blood spattered both men, as well as the seat, window and wall of the plane. An FBI affidavit said the victim woke up screaming and other passengers tried to intervene.

Court documents say the sleeping passenger had a black eye and a cut on his nose. They also indicated that the victim did not harm Nelson, not even in self-defense.

Another passenger was able to pull Nelson off the passenger side. Nelson was moved to a seat at the front of the aircraft and monitored by the passenger who stopped the assault.

“Due to the quick action of our crew and customers, a passenger was detained after becoming physically aggressive with another customer,” United Airlines said in a statement. “The flight landed safely and was met by paramedics and local law enforcement.”

United Airlines Flight #2247 “landed safely at Dulles International Airport in Virginia after the crew reported a passenger disturbance” at 1:40 p.m. local time, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.

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The injured man was then treated by a doctor for “abrasions to his face and head,” according to court documents.

Nelson made his initial court appearance Tuesday and was temporarily detained by a judge. He has yet to enter a plea.

The FAA also noted that the rate of unruly passenger incidents has “declined more than 80 percent from record levels in early 2021, but unacceptable behavior continues to occur.”

In 2024, airlines reported more than 1,200 cases of unruly passengers, according to the FAA.

Bloody attack on sleeping passenger on United Airlines flight under investigation: FAA originally appeared on abcnews.go.com