Chief Responds To Reports Of 6-Year-Old Attacked By Homeless Man In Santa Monica

SANTA MONICA, CA — Police Chief Rámon Batista released a video statement Wednesday in response to reports that a 6-year-old girl was attacked by a homeless man on the street in Santa Monica Sunday.

The incident occurred at 7 p.m. Sunday at Main Street and Marine Avenue. As the girl and her parents were walking northbound on Main Street, they passed behind a bus stop bench where a man was "acting erratically," the Santa Monica Police Department said in a statement Wednesday.

The man spun around as the girl and her parents passed behind him and struck the girl, causing her to fall to the ground. She was not seriously injured, police said.

“An incident like this one is an affront to public safety and will not be tolerated. Even more so that a child was involved. Any crime committed in Santa Monica is a crime too many; our department stands strong in the face of anyone who chooses to victimize those who are in this city,"Batista said in the video. "Our detectives are working hard to uncover more details of the incident and identify and apprehend the suspect."

The chief's response comes after widespread media coverage of the incident that described the man as homeless. Police said they have not confirmed that he is homeless.

The incident occurred after the girl and her parents walked out of an ice cream shop, KTLA reported.

"He turned in the seat and swerved, hit my friend's six-year-old in the face and the child fell to the ground," Christina Tullock told Fox 11.

The girl and her parents were visiting California from the East Coast and were spending time in Santa Monica with Tullock, who lives in Venice, KTLA reported.

Tullock said salled 911 and followed the man to take a picture of him, the Santa Monica Daily Press reported.

"I don't know what I would have done if I caught up with him. Honestly, because he was out of control. He was totally wild-eyed. He was having some sort of psychotic break. He needs help. It's horrendous that this is how we have to live. We're expected to fend for ourselves," Tullock told FOX 11.

On Wednesday, police described the suspect as an approximately 6-foot-1 Black man between 30 and 35 years old. He was wearing a black jacket and blue jeans.

Anyone with information about the suspect or the incident is asked to contact detectives Diaz and Sergeant at [email protected] and [email protected], or the police watch commander at 310-458-8427.