Texas man attacked in downtown Dallas bar by suspect with 5-foot tree branch

Disturbing footage shows the moment a Texas thug, armed with a 5-foot-long spear-like branch, randomly hit an unsuspecting bar patron on the head and then punched an employee in the face.

Adam Mercado and his girlfriend Taylor Monnet were meeting friends at the City Tavern in downtown Dallas on Friday before he noticed the man with a branch in his hand, he said on social media.

Mercado remembered that the man had “carved” a spear from the branch, which he estimated to be about 5 feet long, but he continued to enjoy the time with his group on the front patio of the bar.

“At first my senses were going crazy, my intuition was going crazy, so I said, you know what, let’s go inside and have a drink,” Mercado told NBC Dallas Fort Worth.

But around 2 a.m. on Saturday, the couple decided to go home and say goodbye to friends just as the man passed by on the sidewalk.

The suspect turns around, hits Mercado and hits him in the head, causing the guest to fall to the ground clutching his head.

“The sheer force of the swing was enough to break the branch in half, sending splinters falling on those standing nearby,” Mercado said on social media. “The thunderous sound was so loud that it truly resembled a gunshot, sending a shockwave of panic through the patio patrons.”

The randomly selected man then turned to a bar employee near the entrance and, without hesitation, punched him in the face.

The violent stranger then casually walks “into the dark shadows of downtown Dallas” while Mercado’s girlfriend is seen pacing between the two men before rushing into the bar to get help.

“I didn’t know what to do at that moment,” an emotional Monnet told NBC. “So I ran into the bar and screamed and begged everyone to help me.”

Mercado, a bartender in Dallas with limited medical access, declined the ambulance ride because of the cost.

“A few hours later, I finally went to the hospital because my head, my ears, everything was ringing, I was in pain,” Mercado said. “And I knew I had to get checked out.”

According to NBC 6, he was diagnosed with a concussion after being admitted.

Mercado said he has had difficulty leaving his apartment since the attack and said the whole ordeal has been “very surreal.”

“It was just really traumatic, you know, I was never subjected to any violence,” Mercado revealed. “I’m grateful and happy to be alive and I hope that something like this never happens again.”

Police have not yet identified the suspect and their investigation is ongoing.

The Post has reached out to Dallas police for comment.

The couple wants the community to be aware of their surroundings as the violent attacker is still at large, both told ABC 8.

They also ask anyone who recognizes the man to come forward and report him to the police.

“I’m always on guard; make sure you keep your head in the game at all times – because for 10 seconds I let my guard down and this happened,” Mercado told the outlet.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 2,000 cases of aggravated assault and more than 7,000 cases of simple assault have been reported citywide in Dallas, according to Dallas Police data.

Over 500 violent crimes were reported in May.