Woman Bludgeoned to Death with Bird Electric Scooter in California
Police are investigating the reason behind the attack.
A woman in Long Beach, California is dead after an unknown assailant bludgeoned her with a Bird electric scooter in broad daylight on Monday afternoon, according to local reports. Regrettably, today’s attack isn’t a solitary case nor the first time a Bird or other shareable electric scooter has been used as a weapon.
The woman’s murder was first reported by CBS News Los Angeles, which stated that officers responded to an assault with a deadly weapon call on the 6400 block of North Obispo Avenue in Long Beach, California. According to the Long Beach Police Department, the as-yet unidentified woman was “walking eastbound toward Obispo and 64th Street when a man ran up and began assaulting her.” The reason behind the initial attack is unknown.
However, when a passerby attempted to come to the woman’s aid, the assailant picked up a Bird electric scooter and used it to continue to attack the woman and threaten the person attempting to come to her aid. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
The attack in Long Beach comes only a handful of weeks after a man used another Bird electric scooter in Nashville, Tennessee to attack and assault another man. According to News Channel 5 Nashville, Adam Mann has been charged with the aggravated assault of another after taking a Bird and striking the victim above their right eye.
Bird and other shareable electric scooter companies have had a tenuous relationship with the cities the companies operate in. In early launch programs, companies failed to inform local municipalities that scooters were being deployed. Criminal activity has been a sticking point for many cities as they come to grips with electric scooter reality.
Bird confirmed the attack was perpetrated with one of the company’s shareable electric scooters and told CBS Los Angeles, “We are deeply saddened by this act of violence and our hearts and thoughts go out to the victim and her family. We will work with local law enforcement to help with the investigation into this tragedy.”
The Long Beach Police Department’s homicide division said that the attacker was described as a black male with dark-colored clothing who fled the scene after the murder. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene and the investigation is ongoing into the attacker’s whereabouts as they remain at large.
