#Rick Moranis Attack Suspect Has Been Identified and Arrested

A man accused of randomly assaulting actor Rick Moranis in early October has been identified and arrested. On Oct. 1, Moranis was walking near his home on Central Park West in the Upper West Side of Manhattan with the suspect approaching from the opposite direction. Apparently, without provocation, the suspect sucker punched Moranis in the head, knocking the actor to the ground and afflicting minor injuries. The whole ordeal was captured on surveillance footage which was posted online.

At the time, police released photos of the man on social media, asking for the public’s help in capturing the criminal. Although no credible leads came in, authorities continued to keep an eye out for the assailant seen in the video. The moment finally came on Saturday when the suspect was spotted by transit officers in the subway system just a few blocks away from where the incident took place. After he was arrested, the suspect was identified as 35-year-old Marquis Ventura, a man with an extensive criminal history.

“The high-profile nature of this incident had little bearing on Sergeant Dennis & PO Merlino’s determination to catch the assailant, it was simply another case of NYC cops looking out for their fellow New Yorkers,” a tweet from NYPD Transit reads, noting that this will be the 7th assault charge this year alone for the suspect. For the attack on Rick Moranis, Marquis will be charged with second-degree assault.

The high-profile nature of this incident had little bearing on Sergeant Dennis & PO Merlino’s determination to catch the assailant, it was simply another case of NYC cops looking out for their fellow New Yorkers. The 35-year-old suspect now faces his 7th assault charge this year. https://t.co/a2LsAujGl6pic.twitter.com/DOw8wsDed9

— NYPD Transit (@NYPDTransit) November 15, 2020

One odd aspect of the assault on Moranis is that it came very soon after his return to the public eye. After stepping away from his Hollywood career to focus on raising his children as a single father, Moranis had recently been making new appearances on the small screen, which includes a cameo alongside Ryan Reynolds for a Mint Mobile ad. Following the assault, Reynolds took to Twitter apologize for choosing 2020 as the year to bring back Moranis.

“Should have known not to subject Rick to the year 2020. Glad to hear he’s okay,” the Deadpool star wrote.

Along with the Mint Mobile commercial, Moranis could also be seen in the Disney+ series Prop Culture and the upcoming Canadian TV special An Afternoon with SCTV. He has also signed on to reprise his franchise role of Wayne Szalinski in Shrunk, a reboot of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids with Josh Gad playing Wayne’s adult son. This will be the first live-action role for Moranis on the big screen in over 23 years since he last appeared as Wayne in the 1997 sequel Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves. Despite his return to acting, Moranis is not expected to appear in Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

In a year that’s been filled with a nonstop stream of bad news, it’s nice to see Moranis getting some justice for the horrific assault he endured last month. As the weeks went by, it began to appear as if the suspect would never be apprehended. Now, Marquis will have his day in court for what he allegedly did to Moranis. This news comes to us from NBC News.