Man arrested after attacking Los Angeles animal shelter employees

A man has been apprehended after attacking staff at an animal shelter in Los Angeles late last week, authorities say. The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to KTLA that officers were dispatched to the 3200 block of Lacy Street in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood at 12:57 p.m. this past Friday for reports of a person throwing items and possibly damaging property. A spokesperson with the Los Angeles Fire Department was able to verify that first responders were dispatched to the same area around the same time for reports of an assault, and one person was transported to a hospital with unknown injuries. LAFD said the incident occurred inside an animal shelter; the North Central Animal Services Center is located at 3201 Lacy Street. Per the police department, one person was detained at the scene but it was found that they were not the suspect, and they were released. The actual suspect had fled the scene. A statement from L.A. Mayor Karen Bass' office addressed the 'alarming act of violence' at the animal shelter and confirmed that the suspect was apprehended. The statement also confirmed that the incident took place at the North Central Animal Services Center and affected Western University veterinary clinic team members. 'He will be held accountable,' Bass' office said without identifying the suspect by name. North Central Animal Services Center. (Google Street View) Authorities did not specify any details on potential injuries sustained, but Bass' statement indicates some staff members of the Western University Spay and Neuter Center were hurt. All the animals were kept safe by the 'brave team members' at the facility. 'The onsite Animal Services team, and especially the Western University Spay and Neuter Center staff who sustained injuries, are in the thoughts of the entire City family,' the statement reads. 'In coordination with Animal Services General Manager Gabrielle Amster, mental health resources have been shared with all North Central shelter staff.' While further information on Friday's incident was provided by the mayor's office or law enforcement officials, Los Angeles animal activist and rescue agency head Joey Tuccio, who held a press conference on Friday calling for more attention on animal and animal volunteer welfare citywide, posted a video on social media with purported details of the 'crazy and infuriating' incident; its caption called the violence 'unforgivable and a smear on the city.' 'There was a dog at the animal shelter and this guy had just gotten out of jail was going to get his dog back,' Tuccio said in the video. 'He didn't have enough money to get the dog fixed, and I heard they were going to give him the dog back unfixed, but someone stepped in and said you can't do that … so someone gave him the money to get the dog fixed.' As the procedure was underway in the veterinary facility, Tuccio said the allegedly recently-freed dog owner got into a confrontation with someone in the lobby who he thought was recording him; Tuccio explained the other person was actually texting someone. 'He went crazy. He attacked the receptionist so bad that they needed staples in their head, broke somebody's arm, screamed and yelled, threw chairs,' Tuccio said. 'Volunteers were on their knees begging for their lives — no security — and then he broke the glass to get his dog back, who was under anesthesia … and ran out with the dog.' Tuccio's claims were not independently verified by KTLA, but he says that the incident is a stark reminder of why he says he held the press conference on Friday: conditions need to be better for animals, activists and volunteers in Los Angeles. 'There should be security at North Central Animal Shelter … this is the shelter that is connected to Skid Row,' Tuccio said in the Sept. 5 video, also referencing another alleged incident at the same facility earlier this year. The mayor's office, in their statement issued the following day, said that security was deployed to the North Central Animal Shelter and that the city 'remains committed to the safety and wellbeing of all Animal Services team members and volunteers.'