When Randy McDonald heard a woman screaming outside his California apartment complex Oct. 21, the 62-year-old Air Force veteran said he had to step in.
“Because no one else is doing it,” McDonald told KTLA. “I thought by the cops, the time they got here, it might be too late, ’cause I didn’t know what the situation was. I didn’t know if there was another person out here assaulting her.”
McDonald said he let the woman into the lobby of his Santa Ana building and tried to call for assistance, but she grew impatient, according to the station. He helped her back outside.
“And she asked me if I could help her get a motel room, and I said, ‘Honey, I just got off homelessness, I can’t afford that,'” McDonald said, KCBS reported. “And she just started punching.”
A security video shows McDonald appearing to argue with the woman before he tries to go back inside, but she charges him before the door closes.
They kick at each other, then the woman pulls McDonald outside by his coat and begins pummeling him as he tries to defend himself, the video shows.
A passerby intervenes and gets between the two combatants, prompting the woman to walk away, the video shows.
Santa Ana police released the video Wednesday in hopes of identifying the woman, KTLA reported.
“He was trying to help out of the goodness of his heart,” said Officer Sonia Rojo, KCBS reported.
Police asked that anyone with information on the incident call 714-245-8404 or email [email protected].
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