What appeared to be a nice, sunny day in Los Angeles last week turned out to be anything but when Olympic volleyball player Kim Glass was attacked in broad daylight. As the silver medalist from Beijing 2008 was walking down the street, she was assaulted by a man with what she believed to be a metal pipe.
Glass took to social media over the weekend to share her experience and warn others to always be aware when out and about. In an Instagram video that shows the extent of her injuries - an eye swollen shut, a gash on her nose and what ended up being several fractured bones in her face - she spoke about the incident.
As Glass was hugging a friend after lunch, she caught something out of the corner of her eye. It ended up being a homeless man named Semeon Tesfamariam who was running toward her from across the street. From behind a car, Glass shared that Tesfamariam looked right at her with “some pretty hateful eyes” before launching an object in her direction.
The Olympic athlete said she turned to inform her friend she thought there may be something wrong with the man, thinking he was going to vandalize the car sitting there, but instead, she felt a hard object hit her across the face. The man was restrained by bystanders while Glass was writhing in pain and they were able to hold him until the authorities arrived.
Tesfamariam was taken into custody following the attack and was booked on felony assault charges. He is currently being held without bail, but his court date was not made available. As of now, there did not seem to be any motive in the attack, and it appears Glass was truly in the wrong place at the wrong time.
USA Volleyball President and CEO Jamie Davis said in a statement on Monday, “USA Volleyball is appalled to learn of this weekend’s brutal attack on our Olympic medalist Kim Glass. Our thoughts are with her and we wish her a speedy recovery,’’
Glass is on the road to recovery and while she is obviously shaken up by the incident, she thanked the individuals who came to her aid including the doctor who stitched up her eyebrow. She will be healing over the next several weeks, but believes her eyesight will remain intact.
In a warning to others, she said in her video, “Just be safe out there. You shouldn’t have to be fearful when you walk.”
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