A Contra Costa County woman is shaken after getting violently attacked by a homeless person as she was out for her morning walk in Martinez earlier this week.
“I don’t cry easily but this is definitely making me cry,” said Mary. “I was afraid he was going to stab me or kill me.”
Mary, 65, was on a walk Sunday when she said a homeless man, who appeared to be arguing with himself started chasing her for no reason.
“Then my knees gave out and I stopped and tried to protect myself,” she said.
She said the man started punching her in the back as she tried protecting her head.
“I was freaking out screaming at the top of my lungs,” said Mary. “I thought for sure he was going to stab me.”
Martinez police arrested suspect Gabriel Edie on Monday, a transient they said has been arrested before on drug charges.
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“We’d like to get him off the street and he should be held to answer to why he did this,” said Mike Estanol from the Martinez Police Department. “He currently lives between three different cities Martinez, Pleasant Hill and the Concord area.”
Edie was arrested on felony elder abuse, probation violation and battery, Martinez police said.
Assaults at the hands of homeless people struggling with mental illness seem to be happening more and more often. Attacks have been caught on camera in Southern California and in the Bay Area.
“I think there needs to be help. These people need to get help something needs to be done to get them off the street,” said Mary.
Luckily some Good Samaritans scared Mary’s attacker off before she was badly injured, but she wants others to be aware and on guard.
“Be careful be aware and I guess don’t assume they’re not going to come after you,” she said.
