The Los Angeles Police Department has launched an investigation into a possible battery incident after an aide for Larry Elder was punched during a campaign event in Venice on Wednesday.
The California gubernatorial recall candidate was visiting the beachside city to tour a homeless encampment when he was met with what has been described as a hostile crowd. An egg was reportedly thrown at Elder by a woman wearing a gorilla mask, though it did not make contact.
The LAPD said when an aide approached the woman, she allegedly shouted profanities and "struck" him on the "left side of his face with her open hand."
According to police, another man wearing a gray t-shirt also attacked the aide, punching him on the back of the head.
Neither the Elder campaign nor the LAPD have disclosed the identity of the aide.
Elder did not continue his tour of the encampment and was instead escorted into a nearby vehicle and driven away. The candidate later said his security detail was also fired on with a pellet gun, though no one was injured.
"There's a lot of anger, a lot of unhappiness there," Elder later said of the incident, appearing to blame the crowd's hostility on the presence of homelessness in their community.
"Homeowners want something done," he said. "Families want something done. Children that live there, they want something done. This is a danger not only to the homeless people but to the non-homeless people."
Police are now seeking the public’s help in identifying both suspects involved in the incident. Anyone with information is urged to contact LAPD detectives at (310) 482-6313, or call anonymously at 1 (800) 222-TIPS (8477).