Assailant Stabs Lifeguard With a Corkscrew

A veteran county lifeguard was stabbed in the abdomen with a corkscrew early Tuesday by a barefoot, unshaven assailant who had followed him up the ramp of his Santa Monica Beach watchtower, demanding money, authorities said.

Terry Hearst, 34, was treated for a four-inch cut at Santa Monica Hospital Medical Center. The 15-year lifeguard, who also strained his back when he tumbled seven feet to the sand as the attacker lunged at him, was released from the hospital later in the day.

Officials said it was the third incident in three weeks in which lifeguards patrolling Santa Monica Beach have been accosted by transients. The attacks do not appear to be related.

Lifeguards generally do not carry cash or valuables because of past incidents in which their watchtowers have been ransacked while they were in the ocean performing rescues.

Ironic Situation

“It’s a wonderful situation,” said lifeguard Lt. Dick Heineman, with more than a hint of sarcasm. “We’re trying to protect them and they’re stealing from us.”

Hearst was confronted by the attacker as he opened his watchtower, about three-quarters of a mile north of the Santa Monica pier, Heineman said.

The assailant, described as between 25 to 30 years old with shoulder-length dirty brown hair, followed Hearst up the ramp as the lifeguard was opening the tower’s shutters about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. When the man asked for money, Hearst said he had none and walked inside. The man proceeded to sit down on the outside deck. When Hearst denied a second request for cash and asked the man to leave, the man “sprung up and swung the corkscrew,” Heineman said.

“It cut (Hearst) across the abdomen and he was driven backward. He hit the railing and went over into the sand,” Heineman said.

Radios for Help

The lifeguard was able to radio for help as the suspect fled across the beach and up some stairs into Palisades Park. The suspect had not been caught by late Tuesday.

Heineman said that in the two previous incidents the lifeguards were not injured.

Lifeguards and Santa Monica police say the problem of homeless people on beaches near Santa Monica Pier has steadily increased in the last two years. They say the transients are becoming more militant.

Heineman added that until recently most of the problems county lifeguards in the Santa Monica and Venice experienced involved beach-goers who had been told to leave the area for illegally drinking liquor or running their dogs.

Now, Heineman declared, “Panhandling for money is now an everyday affair.”