LOS ANGELES – A suspect was behind bars Tuesday in connection with an assault earlier this month of a woman who was attacked while walking her dog in downtown Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed Tuesday on social media that a suspect was in custody for the Nov. 8 attack, but no other details were immediately released. The assault was captured on surveillance video.
The victim, who identified herself only as “Terra,” told KTLA5 this week that she was accosted while walking alone with her dog outside a high-rise building near the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The surveillance video shows the man, who appears to be homeless, approaching then grabbing the woman and pushing her against the building’s front glass wall.
“Before I knew it, he grabbed me and I was not able to get away,” Terra told KTLA. “He grabbed the back of my neck and my crotch area, and I was screaming for help.”
She said she was eventually able to get free, but then “he hit me and tackled me to the ground.”
Her screams eventually got the attention of a passerby, who came to her aid and fought off the man.
“He was on top of the guy and just hitting him in the head over and over and over,” Terra told Channel 5.
The attacker then got up and simply walked away, leaving the area before police arrived.
Terra told KTLA she now takes more legal precautions when she is walking.
“Now I am no longer outside by myself when there’s nobody around,” she said. “I always carry mace. I have a stun gun. … You just have to be prepared. I’m constantly looking over my shoulder.”
