MANCHESTER - A 15-year-old student heading to a school bus stop was beaten and kicked by a man who was stopped in his attack by a witness who confronted him with a handgun.

The attack happened about 7 a.m. Tuesday near Maple and Spruce streets.

The teen told police a man came up behind him and then got in front of him, blocking his path. The man knocked the teen to the ground and then kicked him in the torso several times before running off.

Police said a 41-year-old man witnessed the assault. He told police the assailant grabbed on to a chain-link fence next to him so he could jump on top of the victim as he lay on the ground trying to protect himself from the blows.

The witness approached the assailant and told him to stop, but when the assailant made a move toward him, the witness pulled out a handgun, and police said the man ran off. The witness, whose name was not contained in a news release of the incident, has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, police said.

The assailant is described as a white man in his late teens or early 20s, about 5-foot-10 to 6-foot-2, and weighing 175 pounds. He wore a plaid shirt, jeans and a black and gray ball cap. The teen told police he did not know the man and investigators said the motive for the assault is unclear.

The teen sustained some minor bumps and bruises as a result of the assault.

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call police at 668-8711. Anonymous tips for cash rewards may be made through Manchester Crimeline at 624-4040 or online at manchestercrimeline.org .