SANTA MONICA, CA — A man suspected of attacking a 6-year-old girl on the street in Santa Monica Sunday was arrested following another incident in Venice, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.
The suspect, Ahsante Lamar Morgan, 23, was in Los Angeles Police Department custody Thursday afternoon after his arrest. He is believed to be homeless, Santa Monica police said. The nature of the incident in Venice that preceded his arrest is unclear.
Morgan is accused of committing the Santa Monica attack, which occurred at 7 p.m. Sunday at Main Street and Marine Avenue. As the girl and her parents were walking northbound on Main Street, they passed behind a bus stop bench where a man was “acting erratically,” police said Wednesday.
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The man spun around as the girl and her parents passed behind him and struck the girl, causing her to fall to the ground. She was not seriously injured, police said.
The incident occurred after the girl and her parents walked out of an ice cream shop, KTLA reported.
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“He turned in the seat and swerved, hit my friend’s six-year-old in the face and the child fell to the ground,” Christina Tullock told Fox 11.
The girl and her parents were visiting California from the East Coast and were spending time in Santa Monica with Tullock, who lives in Venice, KTLA reported.
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Tullock said salled 911 and followed the man to take a picture of him, the Santa Monica Daily Press reported.
“I don’t know what I would have done if I caught up with him. Honestly, because he was out of control. He was totally wild-eyed. He was having some sort of psychotic break. He needs help. It’s horrendous that this is how we have to live. We’re expected to fend for ourselves,” Tullock told FOX 11.
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