DTLA Residents On Edge After Attacks Near Red Line Station

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — People in downtown LA were on high alert Thursday night after two violent and unprovoked attacks in two weeks.

On Wednesday a 14-year-old boy was shoved off of the platform at the Pershing Square Metro station by a man police say may have been homeless.

"That could have been my husband. That could have been me," said Sara Hernandez, co-founder of DTLA Strong.

"It was extremely chaotic. It was very distressing. People were just trying to get him off he tracks because a train was coming. People were just trying to find law enforcement. Stressful situation," said Marcus Lovingood, a witness to the incident.

Good Samaritans pulled the boy to safety just in time.

The suspect ran and moments later fought with a construction worker nearby. While police were arresting him the man had a medical emergency and died.

"This is a really big issue for us down here. We have a lot of homeless individuals. Humanitarian crisis right now," said Lovingood.

Two weeks ago an attack was caught on camera. A homeless man randomly pushing a man under a large truck. The victim was critically injured.

"It does create a sense of anxiety in a community when there is an unprovoked attack," said Hernandez.

And a new video released this week by LAPD showing a man stabbing a homeless man to death before taking a backpack.

"This happens to everyone. That affects everybody," said Hernandez.

"We have a mental crisis here," said Lovingood.