Update: Los Angeles Man Charged with Felony After Allegedly Assaulting Former Olympian Kim Glass With ‘Metal Bolt’

Update: Los Angeles Man Charged with Felony After Allegedly Assaulting Former Olympian Kim Glass With ‘Metal Bolt’

Update: A Los Angeles man that has been identified as Semeon Tesfamariam, 51, is facing a felony charge after he allegedly attacked former Olympic volleyball player Kim Glass with a metal object.

According to a news release issued by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón on July 12, Tesfamariam faces one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon, including allegations that he,

“caused great bodily injury and of being previously convicted in 2020 of a serious and/or violent felony.” 

The news release added,

“This was a brutal, unprovoked attack. Mr. Tesfamariam has a troubling history of attacking apparently random people with dangerous weapons. His behavior appears to have escalated with time. We have asked the court to preventatively detain him to protect the public. The court granted that request and he is currently being held without bail.”

 

Original story: Former Olympian volleyball player and model Kim Glass revealed she was attacked and severely injured by a homeless man in L.A. over the weekend!

The 37-year-old athlete–who won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics–detailed her experience and shared the injuries she suffered in an Instagram story. She showed her right eye swollen completely shut, blackened, and stitched up with a gash on her nose. In a series of videos posted to her social media page, Kim Glass said it all happened on Saturday (July 9) after she was leaving lunch with a friend at a restaurant in Downtown L.A. Upon leaving the restaurant, she noticed a man in the street with something in his hand.

Kim Glass

Kim explained,

“He just like looked at me with some pretty hateful eyes. And, as I turned to go tell my friend, ‘I think something’s, like, wrong with him and I think he’s going to hit a car,’ before I knew it, a big metal bolt, like pipe, hit me right here.”

She added,

“It happened so fast..He literally flung it from the street. It kinda took me down and out.”

Kim Glass revealed that a group of strangers came to help her after she was hit and stayed by her side until emergency services arrived. Other people held down the man who reportedly threw the metal pipe until the police came to the scene to take him into custody.

According to sources, the LAPD did arrest the suspect, ID’ed as a 51-year-old male. The man was booked for felony assault with a deadly weapon and was not given bail.

 

In her video, the olympian said she was diagnosed with multiple facial fractures and needed stitches to close wounds. Thankfully, Kim said doctors do not expect her vision to be permanently affected by the incident. She added she was grateful for all the support she’s received from friends and family since the incident, and happy things didn’t turn out worse.

Kim Glass also issued a warning to her fans to be careful and mindful of their surroundings. She said,

“Just be safe out there. There’s a lot of mentally ill people on these streets right now and you shouldn’t have to be fearful when you walk but it’s true. And, so, you guys just be safe.”

See Kim’s video below detailing the incident:

We are happy that Kim Glass is okay despite the frightening incident. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!

[Source: 1, 2]