Attack by homeless man in L.A. leaves woman, 52, with broken nose, concussion
The violence unfolded on June 18 when Donna DeChristopher, 52, was walking home from running errands in what she describes as a normally safe, walkable area near her residence on Sunset Drive.
The 52-year-old spotted a homeless man that she's seen in the area and believes lives in a nearby encampment not far from Thomas Starr King Middle School.
She says the man, described as a Hispanic male in his 20's, ran up to her and punch her in the face at least three times before she went unconscious.
The 52-year-old, who said she suffered a concussion, a broken nose, complications with her eye and psychological street from the traumatic assault, said she may have been hit again while she was on the ground and blacked out.
2 brothers reported missing found dead off California highway
Fortunately, a Good Samaritan who witnessed what happened came to help her.
The 52-year-old is now calling on the police department, the district attorney and city leaders to do more to prevent these attacks, especially since there are children in the area who attend the nearby middle school.
'I know that so much is going on right now, but this should not be falling through the cracks,' DeChristopher told KTLA News. '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 DeChristopher's district released the following statement:
'While our work has yielded results, including a 40% 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.'
Just days after she was attacked, the Los Angeles Police Department arrested a homeless man believed to be DeChristopher's attacker, who has reportedly trespassed onto properties in the area.
The man had a previous warrant out for his arrest and is currently being held without bail.
KTLA has reached out to the district attorney's office for confirmation, asking if that arrest is linked to DeChristopher's assault and, if so, what charges he will likely be facing.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


San Francisco Chronicle
5 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
49ers' cornerback Deommodore Lenoir discusses June arrest in Los Angeles
San Francisco 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir addressed reporters Sunday for the first time since he was arrested for obstruction of justice in Los Angeles in June and apologized for his actions. 'I'm different than who I was five years ago — being at the right place and not really hanging out in areas that I shouldn't be,' Lenoir said. 'So I want to apologize to my teammates, the organization and to my coaches and to my family for a mistake.' Lenoir, a 25-year-old Los Angeles native, was arrested on June 27 when Los Angeles Police Department officers approached a group that included Lenoir and saw a gun inside a parked vehicle. When police requested the keys, a man threw them to Lenoir, who threw the keys to another man who tried to hide them. Lenoir was released on his own recognizance at 1:18 a.m. the next day. Lenoir's court date was initially set for Friday, but a spokesperson for the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office told the Chronicle last week that Lenoir's case had not been received. The L.A. city attorney generally has up to a year from the date of the alleged crime to file a misdemeanor charge. CMC and SpO2: Running back Christian McCaffrey trained throughout the offseason with his younger brother, Luke, a Commanders wide receiver who was a 2024 third-round pick. Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, who ranked fourth in the NFL in yards from scrimmage last year, also joined the brothers. 'He just hit us up and wanted to get some work in,' McCaffrey said. 'Obviously, somebody like that who I have the utmost respect for as a player and a person, I was fired up that he could join us for a little bit.' Robinson told reporters last week that he learned a lot about post-training recovery from McCaffrey, who uses an altitude training chamber known as the 'Stratosphere' as part of his routine. 'It's a new innovation, man,' Robinson said. 'We were 18,000 feet in the air, but we were like in a machine. … It was like the coolest thing ever.' Asked about the 'Stratosphere,' McCaffrey noted it's one of the 'gadgets and gizmos' he uses. 'There's the (hyperbaric) chamber, the hypoxic training, the breath work, the pool,' McCaffrey said. 'There's so many different things. We just try to take every little ounce. If you can find an advantage or an edge, we'll do it.' Hypoxic training, Christian? 'It's basically breath work where you fluctuate your SpO2 numbers to get a stem-cell flush into your system,' McCaffrey said. McCaffrey did spend his entire offseason in training-and-recovery mode. McCaffrey and his wife, model and actress Olivia Culpo, welcomed their first child, Colette Annalise, on July 13. 'It's been such a blessing,' McCaffrey said. 'I've been on cloud nine ever since she was born. It's definitely been special for me — life-changing, that's for sure. I'm grateful for my wife. She does a great job of letting me still keep football going and working my butt off.' Jennings exits: Wide receiver Jauan Jennings left practice early with a calf injury he suffered during team drills. Jennings was also sidelined during spring practices with a calf issue, and head coach Kyle Shanahan suggested he might have aggravated that injury. 'That's what he had in OTAs, so I'm sure it's similar,' Shanahan said. Jennings has participated in the first four practices of training camp despite seeking a new contract. Last year, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk didn't practice during training camp when he was seeking an extension, in part to avoid an injury. Aiyuk feigned neck and back injuries as part of his hold-in. Shanahan shelved: Shanahan hasn't assumed his customary practice role as the quarterback in certain defensive drills during training camp. In his place, general manager John Lynch 's son, Jack, a first-year defensive quality control coach, is tossing those passes. Why has Lynch taken his spot? 'He didn't take it, all right,' Shanahan said, smiling. 'I'm injured right now.' Shanahan explained that his throwing elbow began bothering him in December, but he continued to throw during practice. 'I think it ruined me,' Shanahan said. 'I keep waiting for it to heal. It won't heal. I'll probably have to fix it in February. It really sucks not being able to throw. Not just to (the players), but the tennis ball to my dog. Anything. I've got to fix this.' Apple added: The 49ers signed cornerback Eli Apple, 29, two days after corner Renardo Green suffered a hamstring injury in practice that's expected to sideline him for weeks, a league source said. Apple, a 2016 first-round pick, has six interceptions in an 82-start career that's included stints with six teams. Last year, Apple played 27 snaps in four games with the Chargers, who placed him on injured reserve with a hamstring injury he suffered in Week 12. Shanahan said he hoped Green could return during the week the 49ers have a joint practice scheduled with the Raiders on Aug. 14. Staff writer Noah Furtado contributed to this report.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Arrest made in frightening Orange County road-rage related hate crime
A 54-year-old Irvine man has been arrested and is facing charges in connection with a road rage-related hate crime and investigators believe there could be additional victims, officials announced Thursday. The alleged assault unfolded on July 22 at around 9:30 a.m. on Sand Canyon Avenue near Interstate 5, the Irvine Police Department said in a news release. It's unclear exactly how the beginning of the ordeal unfolded, though police said the victim was driving in the southbound lanes of Sand Canyon Avenue when he encountered Leon Tackett yelling at a Hispanic truck driver. After passing the initial altercation, Tackett followed the victim and proceeded to aggressively swerve into his lane multiple times, nearly causing several collisions. 'Tackett shouted racial slurs at the victim before throwing a cup of hot coffee into the victim's vehicle,' the release stated. 'The liquid landed on the victim's face, hands, and on the interior of his car.' Body of person who died on international flight to California reportedly unaccounted for Most of the scary interaction was filmed by the victim, with a family member later posting the footage to social media and reporting the incident to Irvine police on Wednesday evening. 'Today, at around 2:30 p.m., Tackett was taken into custody for a hate crime and aggravated assault,' investigators said. KTLA has so far been unable to locate footage of the incident posted to social media. Authorities believe there might be additional victims of the 54-year-old, as well as others who might have witnessed the most recent incident. Anyone with additional information or footage of the alleged crime is urged to email rsteen@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


New York Post
3 days ago
- New York Post
Bodies of 3 men recovered from Mississippi River after swimming, fishing on sandbar
The bodies of three men were recovered from the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee, on Wednesday after they went missing while fishing and swimming on a sandbar. The victims, who ranged in age from their 20s to their 50s, were reported missing Tuesday evening near a boat ramp at Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park, about 13 miles north of Memphis, authorities said. Advertisement Search and rescue teams with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office and other Memphis-area agencies began looking for the men Tuesday evening and eventually had to call off the search because of darkness, the Shelby County Sheriff's Office said. The search, which included aircraft, rescue boats, drones and the use of sonar, resumed Wednesday morning. The first two bodies were recovered at about 11 a.m. and the third at around 12:45 p.m., the sheriff's office said. A cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner. Advertisement The victims, who authorities said were all Hispanic, were identified as Marlon Mendez, 28, Rudy Perez, 31, and Jose Yanes, 52. Authorities said the men had been fishing and swimming on a sandbar – a natural ridge of sand formed when fast-moving water slows and deposits sediment. In rivers like the Mississippi, sandbars can be unstable and collapse under weight or shifting currents. AP Officials say the area has become increasingly popular but the river is treacherous, with several other hazards including strong currents, submerged items, branches and debris. Advertisement 'There are eddy currents that can pull an Olympic swimmer under. You can be drawn into the channel and find yourself staring at a 24-unit barge that's the size of a skyscraper on its side coming straight at you with no way for the barge crew to have any idea that you are there,' the fire department said on Facebook. Yanes' family told Fox 10 News that he has six children, the youngest of whom is 12 years old. Shelby County Sheriffs Office Doug Ammons, the owner of a general store a few miles from the river, told the outlet that the river is 'lethally dangerous.' Advertisement 'This is a horrific tragedy right here, and it happens way too often,' Ammons said. 'But I understand how it happens. The probability of one-on-one taking on the mighty Mississippi, you're going to lose. Especially without a flotation device.' The Associated Press contributed to this report.