Pic from the video of the assault
On Tuesday at around 1 a.m., the LA County Sheriff’s Transit Policing Division was alerted of an alleged assault at the Hollywood Metro Station in Los Angeles.
When they arrived at the scene, there were no signs of the victim, nor the attacker. However, a witness managed to take a video of the alleged assault.
The video shows the suspect and a bystander, who apparently was the suspect’s friend. During the assault, the suspect is seen taking his jacket off, facing the victim. The victim and the suspect faced each other and seemed to have exchanged a few words, before the victim turned away.
As the victim turned away, the suspect attacked the victim from behind by punching the side of his head, causing the victim to become unconscious. The suspect followed up with a couple more kicks to the victim’s face before fleeing the scene.
After the attack, the witness uploaded the video on Facebook and it was distributed to various media outlets. Deputies encouraged the victim to report the incident, and he eventually did. The victim appeared to be homeless and was treated for his injuries at a local hospital.
The video gave deputies several leads to the identity of the suspect.
On Tuesday at around 1 p.m., the suspect was identified as 32-year-old James A. Hanson. He was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, specifically his hands and feet.
Hanson was booked at the Sheriff’s Century Regional Detention Facility and is bail has been set at $50,000.
Anyone with further information about the suspect or incident is encouraged to call the LA County Sheriff’s Department Transit Policing Division Detectives at (888) 950-SAFE.
