Originally Posted by Gojohnnygo.
Police Pursue 3 BB Gun Vandals
Gunmen Shot Cyclist, Cars
"We'd be looking at multiple charges of unlawful mischief -- one for each vehicle and assault, the severity of which is undetermined," said Lt. Mike Schirling of Burlington police.
Breaking car windows is unlawful mischief.
Shooting someone in the face is assault(?), however...
A battery occurs when one person makes physical contact with another person without that person's consent. A battery can consist of hitting, pushing, striking with an object, spitting many other forms of nonconsensual physical contact. An assault is an attempted battery which puts a person in fear of being battered. If a person takes a swing at you in order to give you a scare, that person has commited an assault. If the person actually hits you, that person has committed a battery. Assault & Battery often go together because it is common for a person to threaten to strike another person (assault) before actually striking that person (battery).
(from Vegas Injury Law. This isn't intended to be spam, but they had the best description of the two terms. It's only fair I give them credit.)