US Olympian Kim Glass allegedly attacked by homeless man in DTLA
LOS ANGELES - Olympian Kim Glass has posted a warning on social media after she says she was allegedly attacked by a homeless person armed with a metal pipe in downtown Los Angeles over the weekend in broad daylight, suffering horrific injuries.
The U.S. Volleyball star - who won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics - said in a video posted to her Instagram page that the alleged attack happened Saturday when she was leaving a lunch date with a friend in the area.
"He just like looked at me with some pretty hateful eyes," Glass said. "And, as I turned to go tell my friend, 'I think something's, like, wrong with him and I think he's going to hit a car,' before I knew it, a big metal bolt, like pipe, hit me right here."
"It happened so fast."
According to Glass, the man threw the metal object at her, and it hit her in her eye socket and around the bridge of her nose, causing "serious damage."
The videos shared by Glass a day after the attack show her eye nearly swollen shut and her nose area still bloodied. She revealed she was diagnosed with multiple facial fractures and needed stitches, but that her doctors said they don't expect her vision to be permanently affected.
"Just be safe out there," she said in the videos. "There's a lot of mentally ill people on these streets right now and you shouldn't have to be fearful when you walk but it's true. And, so, you guys just be safe."
Glass said bystanders were able to hold down the man until police arrived at the scene.
The man has since been arrested, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He was later identified as 51-year-old Semeon Tesfamariam and was booked for felony assault with a deadly weapon. He is currently being held without bail.
Andy Bales, the head of the Union Rescue Mission, spoke to FOX 11 about the alleged attack.
"The sad thing is it doesn't just happen to beautiful wonderful Olympians who are well-known. It happens every day to the average person in LA, and it happens even most of all to other homeless people," said Bales.
Bales said murders of homeless people in Los Angeles increased 47% this year compared to the previous year.
"We can only do our best from now on. We can only get started by caring for our most vulnerable, getting them off the streets. Not leaving anyone on the streets for as long as we do which causes much of the mental health issues that we become aware of. We need immediate shelter and housing for as many people as we can get off the streets now, and then we need the care courts that have been brought up and fought against by some activists who think people have the right to live on the streets. They don't realize the harm that is done to a human being by living on the streets," said Bales.
Bales said the time to act is now.
"Our people in charge in LA, and all of us need to realize that our city has become dangerous because of the way we have not responded to the needs of people on the streets. We need an immediate FEMA-like crisis response. It's not time to talk about it in a mayoral discussion. It's time to carry it out right now. We are losing five and a half people, precious human beings made in the image of God to this issue of homelessness," said Bales.