The victim's mother, Amy Watts, a psychiatric nurse in North Carolina, said she harbors no ill will toward the person who attacked her daughter.
A Los Angeles woman was stabbed in the head by a homeless man who used garden sheers in a random and unprovoked attack that left the victim with serious brain injuries, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Kyli Watts, 22, was walking in North Hollywood at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 10 when the attack occurred, the LAPD said.
Following the attack, Watts ran to a nearby restaurant with the four-inch-long sheers still lodged in her head and begged for help before collapsing, according to the New York Post. Restaurant staff immediately called 911 and she was rushed to a nearby hospital, the Post reported.
Jonathan Cole, 30, was arrested in connection to the attack, police said. His bail has been set at $3,055,000. The case was presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, which filed one count of attempted murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.
Cole is being represented by a public defender, officials said. He has not entered a plea in the case. He has been referred to a mental health hospital to determine if he is mentally capable to stand trial. His next court appearance is Nov. 9.
The LAPD released footage of the attack on their YouTube channel after it was captured by nearby security cameras.
Watts’ mother, Amy, spoke to Fox LA and said that as soon as the incident occurred, her daughter FaceTimed her.
Amy Watts, a psychiatric nurse in North Carolina, told Fox LA she answered the call while she was at work and it was then that her daughter told her that she was stabbed.
Amy Watts told Fox LA she harbors no ill will toward the person who attacked her daughter.
“If this were a person with epilepsy that had not taken their medication and had a seizure at the wheel and hit your child crossing the street, would you really be angry, or do you understand that that’s a person with an illness?” she said. “That’s what we’re dealing with here.”
“To become numb and callous to it is not the right answer. These things are occurring because of systemic failure in treating mental illness,” she added.
Doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center treating Kyli Watts said they had to leave a bone fragment in place after the garden tool shattered her skull because it was very close to a major blood vessel, the New York Post reported. Amy Watts told Fox LA that doctors said that if they removed the bone fragment it could have been too dangerous for her daughter.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for Kyli Watts to help pay for expenses. Any excess funds will be donated to mental health organizations, her family said.
