Woman Stabbed to Death by Transient Wanting $1 for Photo
Christine Darlene Calderon was killed by three panhandlers who demanded payment after she took a photo of one of their signs. Calderon's photo led to the arrest of the three men on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
Calderon and a coworker walked down the famous sidewalk and found one of the men's signs amusing. She pulled out her cellphone and took a picture of the sign. One of the men got upset and demanded that she pay $1, which Calderon refused.
Two of the men pinned Calderon's coworker against a wall while the third knocked the 23-year-old woman to the ground and stabbed her in the stomach.
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"The girl was just laying on the ground with blood everywhere. Everyone was trying to help her stop the blood," Monta Cobbin, an American Eagle Outfitters store employee told NBC.
Calderon was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center but died during surgery, the L.A. Times reported. She was pronounced dead at 11:42 p.m. by the medical examiner.
The incident stunned visitors and left tourists shaken. Police worked quickly and were able to arrest two men near the crime scene hours later, and the third man was arrested several hours after the first arrest. They were described as being between 27 and 34 years old.
"Her plan was to become an engineer," Calderon's mother, Yolonde Tassin, told the L.A. Times. "She didn't want to waste years. She wanted to get in there and do it right."
Police encourage everyone to be aware of their surroundings and do their best to stay safe and avoid confrontation.
"Just be aware of your surroundings and be careful. Generally, in my experience as a law enforcement officer, transients don't like their pictures being taken. I'm not saying that's a cause or reason for anything, but at the end of the day you need to be careful," LAPD Officer Cleon Joseph told KTLA News.
Police are still investigating the incident and ask anyone with information to contact the LAPD's Hollywood Station.
