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A man has been arrested in connection with a violent attack that left a hiker seriously injured in Griffith Park on Monday afternoon.
A group of hikers called police around 2:30 p.m. to report that they found an injured man who had been assaulted on a trail near the 2200 block of Fern Dell Drive, according to the L.A. Times. The victim's face was bloodied, and LAPD Sgt. Douglas Bowler told KTLA that the hiker received some severe blows to his head and suffered from multiple face injuries.
The hiker did not have any identification on him, so authorities weren't able to identify him; however, a firefighter at the scene described him as a man in his 30s. The victim, who was in critical condition, was airlifted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and arrived there around 3 p.m. He is expected to survive.
#BREAKING: Griffith Park hiker assaulted, airlifted in critical condition http://t.co/DK9vWKGMz7 pic.twitter.com/wfN8Z6TgLR
— KTLA (@KTLA) November 3, 2014
LAPD's Northeast Division Sgt. Wayne Guillary told KTLA that they believe this attack may have come out of an argument that escalated. The LAPD is also investigating this case as an assault with a deadly weapon. However, authorities did not say what weapon was used in the assault.
"Anytime someone's assaulted around the head, it creates very serious injuries like he has," LAPD Sgt. Douglas Bowler told NBC Los Angeles. "A foot could be a deadly weapon if you kick somebody."
A man, who hasn't been identified yet, was arrested Monday around 6:50 p.m. in connection with the assault, reported KTLA. Authorities said that he could get charged with attempted murder.
In May, two women were attacked on separate occasions on the popular hiking trail. One was sexually assaulted but managed to get away. Another was a victim who was injured after she was attacked in an attempted robbery.
UPDATE 4:35 p.m.: Police identified the man in custody as 54-year-old transient Tyrone Contino Isumu, according to City News Service. The victim was also identified as a homeless man. Police said they believe the two often went to the same homeless encampment, and had gotten in an argument that led to the assault.
City Councilman Tom LaBonge, whose district includes Griffith Park, said in an interview with KNX 1070 today that he will urge the city to hire more park rangers, according to CBS Los Angeles. "The rangers are our park representatives in the natural wilderness…of Griffith Park, so this is something we all have to work on," he said. "I’ll be fighting for it next April in the budget deliberations."
Isumu was booked on suspicion of attempted murder and is being held on a $500,000 bail.
