A man, who reportedly became drunk and enraged aboard a cruise ship, died shortly after leaving a Los Angeles-area port this week.
The passenger, identified as 35-year-old Michael Virgil by family members, was captured on cellphone video threatening and terrorizing others on the Royal Caribbean cruise that had left the port of San Pedro and was headed to Mexico.
“The gentlemen that was drunk said he was going to kill us,” Christifer Mikhail, who filmed the incident aboard the Navigator of the Seas, told Fox affiliate KTTV. “He started chasing us down the hallway.”
In the video, the shirtless man is seen trying to kick down a door with his boots, where one of the ship’s staff went to hide after passengers said he attacked two crew members.
He was also heard yelling profanities and is alleged to have hurled racial slurs.
“I was kind of scared,” Mikhail said. “I’m stuck in this hallway.”
Security personnel on the cruise ship eventually subdued the man, detaining him with zip ties and handcuffs. Bear or pepper spray was also used on the man.
His family said he was also injected with an unspecified sedative and, within an hour, was dead.
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“We are saddened by the passing of one of our guests,” Royal Caribbean said in a statement. “We offered support to the family and are working with authorities on their investigation.”
The family said his unruly behaviour was completely uncharacteristic. He leaves behind a seven-year-old son with autism and a fiancee.
“He didn’t deserve to die over it,” a relative told the station.
While the cause of the man’s death is unknown, an investigation by the FBI has been opened, reported Fox News.