An elderly man was punched while eating lunch in Whittier on the same day that Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to remove homeless encampments. Darsha Philips reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on July 25, 2024.
An elderly man was punched in the face by a homeless man in Whittier on Thursday afternoon in a seemingly unprovoked attack.
The man was punched in the face as he was enjoying his lunch on the patio of Mimo's Café.
"Without a warning, he just got up and hit one of my customers in the face with his fist," said Mimo's Café owner Ramon Arteaga. "He was bleeding to the point he was taken to the hospital and he has four stitches."
Arteaga said attacks by homeless people seem to be increasing in the area and hopes that the executive order made by California Gov. Gavin Newsom will help with the problem.
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"I don’t think there is anything more urgent or more frustrating than addressing the homeless encampments in the state of California," said Newsom.
The governor ordered state agencies to remove homeless encampments from public property, one of the most sweeping reactions to a US Supreme Court ruling allowing such bans.
"We are done it's time to move with urgency at the local level to clean up these sites and focus on public health and public safety," said Newsom.
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Cities and counties are not legally bound to the order but it puts pressure on them to do the same.
LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis said she sees this as an opportunity for multiple agencies to work together.
"What I don’t want to see hopefully is that these people are just taken up and moved to another city because that doesn’t resolve anything but that people are really sent to services, interim housing permanent housing and case management," said Solis.
However, Katie Tell with PATH, a homeless service provider, fears this will be a blow to all the work it has already done.
"What I don’t want to see hopefully is that these people are just taken up and moved to another city because that doesn’t resolve anything but that people are really sent to services, interim housing permanent housing and case management," said Tell.
Many business owners including Arteaga applaud Newsom's decision after saying they were left with little to no options to deal with homeless encampments before the Supreme Court ruling.
The governor's office has not provided a clear timeline for when the executive order will be enforced.
