A homeless man reportedly threw a large bucket of hot diarrhoea over an unsuspecting woman in a random attack in Los Angeles.
Per NBC4, Heidi Van Tassel was just about to drive home from a meal out with friends near the Hollywood Walk of Fame when the individual, identified as Jere Blessings, attacked.
Watch Heidi Van Tassel recount the incident below:"It was diarrhea. Hot liquid. I was soaked, and it was coming off my eyelashes and into my eyes," Van Tassel said when speaking about the ordeal to the broadcaster. "Paramedics who came to treat me said there was so much of it on me, that it looked like the man was saving it up for a month"
"It was all inside my car because it was so much. He just kept pouring it and splattering it all over me," she continued. "It’s something I won’t ever forget, it’s disgusting."
Van Tassel was reportedly rushed to Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital after the attack, where she was tested for infectious diseases linked to contact with feces. She will need to be retested every three months.
Credit: 1590The victim claims that the Los Angeles Police Department told her that they would investigate the crime, but that her phone calls to the department repeatedly went unanswered.
Van Tassel also alleges that police officers promised to have their victims' advocate reach out to her to offer their services, but maintains that this never transpired.
"It’s so traumatic. It was awful, it changed my life," she continued to NBC4. "The PTSD that I’m dealing with is beyond anything that I’ve ever felt. ‘There needs to be some kind of help for the victims of these crimes. I will never, ever forget his face."
Credit: 2431Blessings was charged with battery over the incident, and was taken to jail before being released on bail. He purportedly received several months of psychiatric treatment, but is now back on the streets.
Court records detail that he suffers from "schizophrenia and psychiatric disorders". Van Tassel is, however, concerned that Blessings' mental health issues haven't been treated properly.
"He doesn’t need jail time. He needs mental health care," she stated. "I have empathy for him. Because he needs help."
This incident comes amid a rise in the number of crimes committed by the transient community in Los Angeles. The figure has grown from around 7,000 in 2017 to over 9,000 in 2018.
"It was awful," Van Tassel concluded. "And it changed my life."