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NCIS star Pauley Perrette says she's "shaken and traumatized" after a homeless man brutally attacked her in Hollywood.On Thursday evening, around 5 p.m., Perrette says she was walking outside of her home near the 6000 block of Cahuenga Terrace when she was unexpectedly assaulted. "On my street, I was jumped by a VERY psychotic homeless man," she later tweeted. "He grabbed me so forcefully, pinned my arm, punched me in the nose, forehead repeatedly telling me he was going to kill me."
So, tonight was awful, life changing and I'm only grateful to be alive. It's here: pic.twitter.com/vXIT1pkVRc
— Pauley Perrette (@PauleyP) November 13, 2015
She said after the assault she collapsed on the sidewalk and when later texted a friend, for whom she drew a sketch of the attacker. Through the sketch, her friend was able to track him down and the man was later arrested by the police. Records identify him as 45-year-old David Merck, whose birthday also happened to be yesterday.
The attack on Pauley Perrette is terrifying, serious & not funny at all. But the sketch of her attacker is HILARIOUS pic.twitter.com/NX0dd08WUe
— AL (@MissSchliez) November 13, 2015
"I've seen this guy’s rap sheet; it's a long rap sheet," LAPD Sergeant Bob Ward told the L.A. Times. "He's self-medicating. Probably didn't even know who she is." Ward says transients are known to camp under the 101 freeway, not far from where the attack took place.
"I am an advocate for the homeless. I'm an advocate for homeless rights," Perrette told KTLA's morning show. "It was a really devastating irony for me that that happened." In the note she tweeted, she wrote, "We need full mental health care. We need housing and help for the homeless."
Although shaken up by the experience, she seems to be doing okay. "It was a really bad night," she told KTLA.