2 Transients Attacked on Brand Blvd.

Two Glendale transients were attacked within minutes of one another in separate incidents that occurred within a block of each other on Monday, police said.

Charles Thompson, 42, was stabbed in the abdomen about 5 p.m. along a heavily traveled stretch of Brand Boulevard. Fifteen minutes later, disabled transient Bruce L. Booker, 43, was pummeled by a man in front of a restaurant on the corner of Brand Boulevard and Colorado Street.

In the first attack, Thompson was stabbed once after arguing with a man and woman in front of a store on the 200 block of South Brand Boulevard, police said.

A witness told police that the man grabbed Thompson behind the neck, appeared to stab him and then threw him to the ground. The man threatened to kill Thompson while the attacker’s female companion uttered “religious connotations,” the witness said.

Attacker Apologizes

Moments later, the man picked Thompson up, helped him to a nearby bus bench and apologized to him. Before walking away, the man asked a passer-by to call the 911 emergency line for Thompson, who was bleeding profusely.

Thompson was treated for the stab wound at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank where he is listed in good condition, said Betty Neilson, assistant director of nurses.

In the second attack, Booker, who was panhandling in front of the Beef Bowl Restaurant, was repeatedly punched after he asked a Los Angeles man for a quarter.

Thad M. Foster, 23, of Los Angeles was arrested on a charge of misdemeanor battery in that attack. He was taken to the Glendale City Jail and released on $500 bail, police said.

Foster and two other witnesses told police that Booker was harassing customers. Booker told police he only asked Foster for a quarter.