Police have arrested a 41-year-old man in connection with the brutal assault of a woman that sparked outrage after it was captured on video and circulated on social media this week.

In the video, a mother of two was viciously beaten in broad daylight from a man she reportedly didn’t know after she stepped off a jitney on Baillou Hill Road on Tuesday. 

The woman suffered two broken legs from the attack, which prompted questions about the delay in public intervention.

According to police, the suspect was taken into custody on Thursday, December 19, and remains under investigation.

On the sidelines of an event today, Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe called the attack "unacceptable" and noted he was also concerned about the lack of intervention from bystanders.

He said that while it is understandable that people may have been apprehensive or unsure whether the assailant was armed, more could have been done to discourage the attack.

"Did anyone just scream, ‘Leave that woman alone,’ even if you didn’t go and confront him? You never know what may drive someone off,” he said.

Mr Munroe also pointed to broader societal issues, emphasizing the need for a cultural shift in how young men are raised to treat women.

“Police cannot moderate your behavior," he continued, "so while we talk about people, perhaps seeking to intervene, even if just issuing a warning. This is what we talk about when we talk about prevention."

Mr Munroe said: "Something must have gone very wrong in this young man's upbringing, and he believes that it's okay to be the defenseless woman. I wasn't raised like that. I hope most men weren't raised like that. And so far as we can affect the generation coming up, we need to teach them that things like that and not acceptable.”

Mr Munroe was asked whether establishing designated, monitored bus stations was a viable safety measure; however, he pointed to the challenge of resource constraints.

“The challenge always is, you would never have enough policemen to put everywhere you need them to be,” he said.