A homeless man went on a violent rampage at Santa Monica State Beach, attacking three women and trying to drown one of them in the Pacific Ocean, according to witnesses and police.
The attacks occurred Monday morning just north of the Santa Monica Pier and south of the California Incline.
“I was sitting on the beach and heard screaming from Lifeguard Tower 13. It was a man attacking a young woman,” one of the victims, Jenna Wilker, told the Santa Monica Closeup. “I pushed him off of her, and then he decided to run after her a second time after punching me in my face.”
After the attacker stopped chasing the other woman, Wilker, who is also homeless, says he turned his attention back toward her.
“He tried to strangle me and bit the heck out of my ear and tried to dislodge my pants,” she recounted.
Moments later, Wilker and police say the man attacked an elderly woman who was walking on the beach with her husband.
“The assailant grabbed the elderly woman and pulled her in the water and was holding her underwater when lifeguards and police officers arrived,” Santa Monica Police Lt. Erika Aklufi told KTLA’s Sara Welch.
Santa Monica Closeup’s video shows officers arresting the suspect, identified by police as Jawann Dwayne Garnett, 32, at the shoreline.
Garnett is a registered sex offender with a profile on California’s Megan’s Law website.
A 17-year-old victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment of serious but non-life-threatening wounds, according to the Santa Monica Police Department. The two other women were not seriously hurt.
“I’ve never seen somebody so devoid of humanity in my life,” said Wilker. “It was scary.”
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact the SMPD Watch Commander at 310-458-8427.