A man went to a Los Angeles animal shelter to retrieve his dog Friday. Before the afternoon was over, employees had been attacked, one person had been taken to a hospital, and the man had fled the building.
The violence broke out at the North Central Animal Services Center in Lincoln Heights while the dog was undergoing neuter surgery. Los Angeles Animal Services General Manager Gabrielle Amster later described what workers experienced in blunt terms: “Our staff at North Central felt under siege at their own workplace.”
Police were called to the 3200 block of Lacy Street at 12:57 p.m. on Sept. 4 after receiving reports that someone was throwing objects and possibly damaging property, KTLA reported. Los Angeles firefighters separately responded to an assault call and transported one person to a hospital.
The first person detained by police turned out not to be the suspect and was released. The man accused in the attack had already left.
City officials said he was later apprehended. His name and the charges against him have not been publicly identified in the reporting available so far.
Amster told the city’s Board of Animal Services Commissioners on Tuesday that the employees’ injuries were not life-threatening. Security brought in after the attack was still stationed at North Central, with no timetable for when it would be removed.
A Routine Pickup
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The confrontation apparently began around the dog’s veterinary care.
Officials said the man had recently been incarcerated and came to North Central to retrieve his dog while the animal was being neutered. At some point, he became angry and began throwing things, damaging property and threatening workers.
Animal advocate Joey Tuccio, who works with Starts With One Today, gave a more detailed account after the attack. He said someone had helped pay for the dog to be fixed and that the surgery was underway when the man got into a confrontation with another person in the lobby.
Tuccio said the man believed that person was recording him when they were actually texting.
From there, Tuccio said, the situation turned violent.
He described chairs being thrown and workers being attacked. He also claimed a receptionist suffered a head injury requiring staples and another person suffered a broken arm. KTLA noted that it had not independently verified those details.
Tuccio further claimed that the man broke glass and took his dog from the veterinary area while the animal was still under anesthesia before running from the shelter.
One Loose End
That last part has generated its own concern.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said workers at the shelter made sure animals remained safe throughout the attack. Her statement did not specifically address what happened afterward to the dog Tuccio said was removed during its procedure.
Later reporting has likewise established that the man was apprehended, but has not provided a verified update on that dog’s location or condition.
The mayor described the incident as an “alarming act of violence” against North Central employees and members of the Western University veterinary clinic team operating inside the shelter.
Security Stays Put
North Central has an on-site spay and neuter clinic operated by Western University of Health Sciences, which was where some of the injured workers were employed.
Bass said mental health resources were made available to shelter employees after the attack and security was deployed to the facility.
By Tuesday, that security was still there.
Amster told commissioners that she did not want the episode to define North Central, calling the facility an important part of the surrounding community.
For the workers who were there Friday, however, she said the experience was traumatic even though their physical injuries were not life-threatening.