Donna DeChristopher, Los Angeles woman, 52, nearly loses an eye after being attacked by homeless man in the Los Feliz area as she now demands local leaders take action and address homelessness in the area.
A California woman was left with a broken nose, a broken eye socket and concussion following a vicious assault at the hands of a homeless man while walking through the Los Feliz neighborhood – as she now calls for Los Angeles city leaders to address homelessness in the area.
The terrifying incident unfolded on June 18 when Donna DeChristopher, 52, was walking home after running errands near her residence on Sunset Drive in the Loz Feliz neighborhood in which she describes as usually safe and walkable.
It was soon when Donna was pounced on by the stranger, a transient she had seen before in the area – believed to be living in a nearby encampment not far from Thomas Starr King Middle School – as the un named man began attacking her without warning.
Addressing homelessness and street violence
The assailant, described as a Hispanic male in his 20s, allegedly punched her in the face three or four times before fleeing the scene according to ABC7.
DeChristopher lost consciousness after falling on the concrete below and hitting her head before a Good Samaritan coming to her aid.
The assault led to her being hospitalised and suffering an avalanche of injuries including a broken nose, brain bleed and a damaged eye socket, the extent to her eye continues to remain unknown.
Doctors initially feared her retina had detached, but she avoided surgery for now.
‘I know that so much is going on right now, but this should not be falling through the cracks,’ DeChristopher told KTLA.
‘If this happens to me, I’m vocal. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else. Who else has he attacked that he has hurt that is too afraid to come forward? Who is he going to hurt the next time he’s out on the streets?’
Councilmember Nithya Raman, who represents the district, responded with a statement: ‘While our work has yielded results, including a 40 per cent drop in the number of people living on the streets in our district last year, much more remains to be done and we will continue to deploy every resource available toward address this issue.’
The Los Angeles Police Department arrested a homeless man believed to be responsible several days later.
He reportedly had a warrant for his arrest and a history of trespassing in the area.
He is currently being held without bail.
