A San Jose teenager was allegedly attacked and slurred by an unhoused man while walking to school on Friday.
The attack happened outside Peter's Bakery on Alum Rock Avenue, and it comes days after a San Jose police officer was reportedly stabbed by another unhoused man.
Watch NBC Bay Area News free wherever you are
WATCH HERE"A random homeless guy was on his bike, and he just threw it down, came up to me and smacked me as hard as he could," said Tyler Kintz, the 15-year-old who was allegedly attacked.
Kintz said the attack happened in front of his younger brother and mom. He claims the unhoused man yelled a gay slur at him.
"I chased him, and 20 police showed up. It was crazy," said Michelle Martinez, the victim's mom. "I even cut through the middle of Alum Rock Avenue without the crosswalk, and traffic was going. And I didn’t care. When it’s your kid, something happens to your kid, mom instincts pop in, and you just react.”
The suspect has been arrested and police said they will be adding a hate crime charge because he allegedly used a gay slur.
"‘I mean, I was in shock," Kintz said.
Three days prior, a San Jose police officer was allegedly attacked by Eli Scott, who is described as unhoused, after responding to a call of a man wielding a machete at a popular shopping center.
“In just one week, a San Jose police officer and a San Jose kid have been the unfortunate victims of our status quo approach to homelessness that puts civil liberty above safety,” said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. “My thoughts are with both of their families, but thoughts won’t change these outcomes, only actions will — actions that only our county and state can execute. Incidents like this will continue unless we expand our mental health and addiction treatment system and get every single level of government to do their part to end the era of encampments.”
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news with the Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
SIGN UP Gail Osmer, a homeless advocate for more than 30 years, said the two incidents should not be used to indict all unhoused residents.
"These are horrible crimes. I'm not standing up for them. But I'm not judging every single unhoused person because of two or three incidents,“ she said.
Kintz decided to stay home after the attack and is still processing what happened.
"I mean, I’m still in shock," he said. "I wouldn’t expect that to happen, thinking my community isa safe place, and something like that can happen at any time."
