Olympic medalist and model Kim Glass took to social media to talk about an assault that left her with fractured facial bones and several cuts in downtown Los Angeles over the weekend.
Glass posted on her Instagram account that she was saying goodbye to a friend after lunch Saturday when a man she described as homeless approached.
“He just like looked at me with some pretty hateful eyes,” said Glass, who thought the man was about to hit the car she was standing near.
Instead, the man flung a metal pipe that struck her in the face.
In the video, Glass can be seen with her right eye swollen shut with deep cuts on her nose and above her right eye.
Stitches were required to close the wound over her eye, she said.
Bystanders came and held the man down until police arrived at the intersection of South Olive and West 8th streets and took him into custody.
The man, identified Monday as 51-year-old Semeon Tesfamariam, was taken to jail and was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed. He is being held without bail.
Glass said she had no previous interaction with the man and warned others to be ready for anything when out in public.
“There’s a lot of mentally ill people on these streets right now. You shouldn’t have to be fearful when you walk but it’s true … You guys just be safe,” Glass said.
The 2008 Olympic silver medalist and Sports Illustrated model said she made the video because she was getting a lot of messages and felt the story was going to get out anyway.
She also wanted to assure everyone that her eye was going to be OK after the attack.
The incident occurred as Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is facing criticism and a recall effort over his approach to crime.
