Violent attack on Black woman near Folsom parking garage "not surprising" to some
FOLSOM - A homeless man was arrested this week for felony battery and a hate crime after Folsom police said he beat up a Black woman in Historic Folsom.
Folsom police initially arrested 59-year-old Mamikon Shushanyan for a misdemeanor and he was cited and released. An officer from there said under California Law, this type of misdemeanor did not allow them to hold him in custody.
It was not until they learned the woman who was attacked had a broken left cheekbone and elbow that police rearrested him for felony battery. Investigators said they also learned Shushanyan was yelling racial slurs at the African American woman.
Surveillance video from the Sutter Parking Garage shows the homeless man pushing the woman to the ground, kicking and punching her.
"With the amount of homeless who have been coming through town lately it's not surprising but it is unfortunate," said John Straggon, whose office building window faces the crosswalk where it happened.
Straggon saw the first responders swarming the spot Tuesday afternoon but had no idea it was for an assault.
"Because it happens frequently, I figured it was some form of medical emergency with a homeless person," Straggon said.
Straggon finds the homeless sleeping by his business windows from time to time.
"I pass a lot of homeless on the streets that are having conversations with themselves or whatever," Straggon said.
Folsom police could not tell CBS13 if Shushanyan was having a mental episode, but they do say he was yelling racial slurs at the Black woman he attacked and shouting at others before the assault.
They first learned of the confrontation from a man who had called them about Shushanyan screaming and scaring people in the area. The caller ended up being the good Samaritan who jumped in to stop the attack and hold down Shushanyan until the police arrived.
"Generally speaking, that person who is having mental health issues is way more afraid of them," said executive director of the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness Bob Erlenbusch.
Erlenbusch told CBS13 that 40% of homeless people have mental health issues, the majority schizophrenia. Over the years, he has seen the symptoms only getting more severe and he attributes that to lack of access to care.
He and other homeless advocates have been working to bring treatment on demand to people on the streets across the Sacramento region.
"Just because you are homeless, doesn't mean you are mentally ill," said Dorothy Cormack.
Cormack walks to and from work in Historic Folsom but was unaware of the transient attack near the transit station until CBS13 showed her.
"The homeless who are around here, we see them over and over and over again, so we sort of know them," said Cormack.
Folsom police said this was their first time arresting Shushanyan, but they had gotten calls on him for disturbances, trespassing and suspicious circumstances in the past.
Shushanyan is now behind bars at the Sacramento County Jail.