WATCH (above): A brutal assault caught on surveillance video at a tattoo shop in Vancouver’s International Village. Catherine Urquhart explains what allegedly set the customer off — and how the victim is doing now.
Police say a man has been charged with assault following a violent attack on the owner of a Vancouver tattoo parlour.
Sgt. Randy Fincham of the Vancouver police says the assault took place at about 1 p.m. on Monday at LooksWow, a tattoo parlour on West Pender Street.
A customer came into the store and got into a dispute with the owner, Jojo Geronimo. Fincham says the man became extremely aggressive and then assaulted the woman. In the video he can be seen grabbing her, throwing her to the ground and then kicking her.
WATCH: Viewer discretion advised – Assault captured on security camera
“It was fairly violent,” says Fincham.
Another woman ran over to help and security was called. The police were also called and the man was arrested.
Thirty-one-year-old Byron Thomas Hobbs, from Vancouver, has now been charged with one count of assault causing bodily harm and two counts of assault. He has since been released and will be appearing in Vancouver Community Court on Wednesday at 9 a.m.
Fincham says Hobbs is previously known to police.
Geronimo suffered facial injuries in the attack, but is expected to make a full recovery. She is currently having trouble eating and can’t talk very well.
She said the entire experience was surprising and unsettling.
“I didn’t think he would be doing that, because I’ve known him for about two years.”
Geronimo’s boyfriend, Joe Tenorio, who does not work at the parlour, says the dispute was over a scheduling issue. When Hobbs came by the store to reschedule his appointment, and there were no spots available, he became very irate. He also wanted $15, which he said he had paid Geronimo but she told him he was not entitled to get back. When she said she was going to call security, he attacked her.
“It’s was pretty shocking,” says Tenorio. “He striked her twice, once to the face, once to the chest. She’s a trooper that’s for sure. She’s a fighter, she didn’t allow him to take advantage of her and affect her too much, but the injuries were pretty bad.”
He said he was very proud of her for the way she acted and how she fought back.
He had only recently installed cameras in the store and when the attack happened he felt it was important to post it online for others to see. Although a longer version of the video was not posted online, and that part shows a female security guard being struck in the face. She is also expected to make a full recovery.
“It’s just one of the most overwhelming things that you see, when you see someone you truly care for being attacked as they were,” said Tenorio.
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