On the evening of Sept. 17, Eddie Gibbs III, age 32, and girlfriend Sharae O’Dell visited the People Concern shelter, inquiring about housing and receiving a shower at the property. Once arriving, security guard Brenton Isaiah Walker, age 25, with Global Protection Services became hostile with Gibbs, attacking him at the property and eventually chasing him up the street toward the Big Blue Bus parking lot at 6th and Colorado.
“I went to go ask about how to get into housing, [since] the police department [said] there’s no camping, it’s illegal to camp in Santa Monica, so they referred me to The People Concern,” Gibbs told the Daily Press. “When I [went] up there to ask questions, immediately the security guard tells me this is private property, he started cussing me out … he pushed me, I pushed him back, and [as] I’m trying to exit the premises … I started backing up because he brandished a pocket knife.”
Once near the Big Blue Bus lot, Gibbs tripped and fell into the street, with O’Dell stating Walker pulled out a pocket knife and “intentionally stabbed [Gibbs] on the right side of his face from almost his temple to his top lip.” The stabbing led to massive blood loss.
“I do not know this guy, never seen him before a day in my life, never met him … so I don’t know what his problem was,” Gibbs said.
In the midst of the blood loss, Gibbs was still able to reach into his pocket for his phone and call 911, with Santa Monica Police Department responders calling paramedics after what O’Dell said “felt like forever.”
“A driver from the Big Blue Bus even stood with her mouth wide open, appalled by what she witnessed … she was visibly trying not to cry,” O’Dell said of the bystanders around Gibbs. “Eddie was bleeding profusely, nearly soaking the t-shirts he was wearing with blood. I watched as blood filled up in and around his mouth, and as he repeatedly tried to speak, epic amounts of blood were coming out while he was delirious and attempting to talk and seek assistance. I had no towels or blankets on my person, so all I could do was grab a plastic tray bag and try to use pressure and hold it to his face to stop the bleeding.”
Gibbs was transported via ambulance to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where he was put into the Intensive Care Unit to help control the blood loss. He was given stitches inside his mouth on the inner and top layer of his face, 55 stitches altogether.
His road to recovery will take months, with the situation complicated due to his unhoused status.
“I have to stay out of the sun for six months, that’s kind of hard [with] not having a place to stay,” Gibbs said. “I gotta stay in the shade and keep Neosporin on it, stuff like that.”
Gibbs earns money via acting gigs, something he is also worried about going forward.
“I’m used to doing central casting, background [acting] like that, so now it’s messed up my image,” he added. “As a model, [he ruined] my face, [he] scarred me for life.”
According to SMPD, Walker was arrested following investigation of the crime scene, charged with Mayhem and Attempted Murder of Gibbs. Gibbs stated he is nervous about testifying, and has hired a lawyer to seek legal action against the guard.
“I’m trying to get through it, pretty scary situation, you know?,” he said. “I’m still having bad dreams.”
The People Concern Director of Public Policy and Advocacy Kristen Aster told the Daily Press that the shelter “has cooperated fully,” but cannot comment on the ongoing conversation.
“We can confirm that the security guard is not an employee of The People Concern nor a resident of Samoshel,” Aster stated. “One purpose of security guards hired by third party contractors is to protect clients from potential intruders, as was the case on the incident in question, only on site and without weapons.”
thomas@smdp.com
