One of my readers contacted me with some news about the crowbar attack that happened Sunday night. For those of you who didn’t catch my previous post, a couple was attacked at Main and Monroe about 11:15 PM Sunday night. The attacker hit them over the head with a crowbar, and was chased away by a courtesy guard from a nearby building. The guard used the pictures on the Handling-Panhandling online forum to ID the attacker as “Flower Man,” a well-known panhandler. The police found Flower Man Monday and hauled him in.
So here’s the update: I had previously reported that the victims were tourists. Turns out that’s not the case. They were service industry workers, both of whom work at popular restaurants on Second Street. The attacker hit the female first. She hit the ground, then took off running, then collapsed at Main and Monroe. The attacker then hit the male.
Both of them are in the hospital and have staples in their scalps. They consider themselves lucky to be alive. As is usually the case with service industry workers, neither of them had health insurance.
Flower Man is being charged with attempted murder, so we likely won’t see him again for a long, long time. Again, GOOD RIDDANCE.
Got a favor to ask of you… if you know any restaurant/bar employees and/or managers in the Downtown area, please make sure they know about this. A lot of service industry people get off work and go out for drinks in their work uniforms. Since servers and bartenders usually get paid daily in cash tips, they’re walking targets with their work clothes on. They need to be extra careful after work and bring a change of clothes as possible. Also, more restaurants need to set up a system like the one at The Majestic Grille where employees don’t leave with a large amount of cash.
Another reader has e-mailed me a couple of times, asking why this story hasn’t been reported by the media. Yeah, that’s a good question, WHERE IS THE MEDIA??? Even if they didn’t know about it on their own, I know a lot of them read this blog… you’d think some of them would’ve followed up with the police, got the details, and reported it. So far Fox 13 is the only media outlet to contact me about this. The crowbar attack certainly seems as newsworthy as any of the crap on page one of today’s Commercial Appeal.
Since I mentioned that the victims work at bars on Second Street, and everyone knows I hang out at the Flying Saucer on Second, I want to let everyone know that the victims were not employees of the Saucer. THANK GOD. I would be devastated if any of those girls were attacked.
This incident also illustrates that not all the panhandlers working Downtown’s streets are harmless. Some of them will turn to more serious illegal activity if bumming is not profitable enough. Thankfully Flower Man is off the streets for good, but I know for a fact that at least two other Downtown panhandlers (Willie who works Court Square, and Sharp Dressed Bum) have felony convictions on their record. If you take out money in response to a panhandler’s request, you may be literally taking your life into your own hands.
One final note: Even though this incident happened near where I live, I still love Downtown, have no plans to move, and see Downtown as my home for years and years in the future. The benefits of being down here – the sense of community, the ability to walk everywhere, the entertainment options – far outweigh the negatives.
Sorry to be such a downer on a Thursday morning but this information needs to be made public.
Legal stuff: Flower Man is presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law