By Lookout Staff

March 12, 2024 -- Police are searching for a homeless man who assaulted a six-year-old girl Sunday evening as she was walking with her parents on Main Street near the Venice border.

The incident took place at around 7 p.m. near the intersection on Main and Marine Avenue, according to police.

The suspect is described as a Black male in his early thirties, about 6 feet tall and wearing a black jacket and blue jeans.

He was sitting on a bus bench when the family approached, according to a witness who was with the family when the incident took place.

The witness, Christina Tullock, said the suspect struck the child in the face, and she she fell to the ground, according to several news reports.

"He was totally wild-eyed," Tullock told Fox 11. "He was having some sort of psychotic break. He needs help.

"It's horrendous that this is how we have to live," she said. "We're expected to fend for ourselves."

Tullock followed the suspect and snapped a picture of him from the back with her cell phone.

Anyone with information about Sunday's incident should contact the Santa Monica Police Department at 310-458-8427.