Woman attacked by homeless man in Melrose-Fairfax area

The search is underway for a homeless man who attacked a woman in the Melrose-Fairfax area, and police believe she may not be the only victim.

It happened on June 24 around 4:30 p.m. Sigal Engelberg told KNX News’ Emily Valdez she was walking her little dog on Melrose Ave. near La Cienega Blvd. when she saw a shirtless man acting strangely on the other side of the street.

“And when he crossed the street, I started walking faster so that I wouldn't be in the area where he would end up crossing to. I had no idea that he was actually coming for me directly,” she said. “I just thought, ‘He's unstable. Whatever. Just get away from him. Don't make eye contact. Don't draw his attention.’”

Engelberg said the man swung on her face from behind and knocked her down.

“I may have lost consciousness for a minute, but it's hard to remember because I was in shock,” she said.

She added that her dog also fell and skid her leg in the attack.

As a result, Engelberg got a hematoma on her face, a black eye, and scrapes her body.

“He hit me with so much force and the girl who witnessed it and stopped to help was…she was so scared that once I was on the ground, he would keep hitting me,” she said. “He could have easily killed me. There was nothing I could have done to fight back. Even the day that I was attacked, some store owners from Melrose came to help out and bring the ice packs and they told me that they saw that same man attacking other women in the area.”

A senior lead officer with the LAPD’s Wilshire Division told KNX News’ Emily Valdez that they are aware of the man and believe he may have attacked other women too. They are increasing patrols in the area as detectives work to catch the suspect.


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