A Los Angeles gardener has suffered injuries after a man attacked him in broad daylight because his equipment was too loud.
On Monday, Rodolfo Roman was working in Los Angeles’s Brentwood neighborhood when he was approached by a man whom neighbors say was squatting in a nearby abandoned home, local outlet KTLA reports. The man, carrying a large stick, confronted Roman and complained about the noise from his gardening equipment.
The man then hit Roman in the head repeatedly with a large stick after the gardener asked him to leave, video footage of the incident shows. The blows knocked Roman to the ground, but the attacker continued hitting him. At one point, Roman raised his arm to shield himself, but the man continued hitting him with the stick.
Roman went to a nearby hospital, where he was treated for a broken arm and a head gash, which required eight staples, KCAL reports. Roman told CBS News he’s now afraid to return to the neighborhood.
“I was very scared,” Roman told KTLA. “My legs were shaking, and I’m down on the ground.”
Police arrested the suspected attacker on Tuesday, KCLA reports.
Braden Yuill, who owns the home where Roman was working during the attack, told KTLA the attack was his “worst nightmare.”
“He comes every week and he’s just the most beautiful guy in the world, and he was just covered in blood,” Yuill said of Roman.
Yuill launched a GoFundMe for Roman on Tuesday.
“Our wonderful gardener, Rodolfo, was violently assaulted by a homeless man that has been living at the abandoned house a few doors up from us,” Yuill wrote on GoFundMe.
“We have tried tirelessly to have the owners demolish the structure to prevent this guy from living there, we have called 911/311, and today it finally erupted with him assaulting Rodolfo with a long pole,” he added.
The fundraiser has received more than $3,000 as of Wednesday, surpassing its goal of $2,000.
Neighbor Sean Heffron said that criminal activity at the abandoned house has been escalating. Heffron told KCLA that the same man who attacked Roman had threatened him before.
“He has threatened me, tried to kill me before, he knows who I am, he chases me down this alley,” Heffron said.
Yuill told KTLA the attack was his “worst nightmare” and said he has called the police about the man multiple times.
“The police have been called multiple times,” Yuill said. “There was a fire there last week that the fire department had to come and put out. We’ve spoken to that landowner multiple times.”
The Independent has contacted the Los Angeles Police Department for more information.
