By Jorge Casuso

March 10, 2023 -- A homeless man was charged with assault and attempted murder on Wednesday after attacking three Black victims with a metal pipe one week ago.

The first of the early morning attacks on March 3 took place at around 7:30 a.m. on the 1100 block of Santa Monica Beach near the California incline, police said.

The suspect, later identified as Job Uriah Taylor, "approached the African American victim who was walking his dog and threatened to attack him with a metal pipe," said Lt. Erika Aklufi.

"Taylor yelled several racial slurs at the victim," Aklufi said.

Members of the Santa Monica Fire Department working nearby "intervened, fending off suspect Taylor who rode away on his bicycle in an unknown direction."

The victim was not injured, Aklufi said. Officers were initially unable to locate the suspect.

Some 20 minutes later, at around 7: 50 a.m., officers responded to a call reporting an assault taking place on the north side of the Downtown Expo train platform at 4th Street and Colorado Avenue.

"The same suspect was seen attacking a male and female, both African American, with the same pipe he was brandishing at the 1100 block of the beach," Aklufi said.

"Taylor hit the victims multiple times in the head while yelling more racial slurs."

The two victims were homeless and and camping out near the station, Aklufi said.

They were transported to the hospital, she said. One was released the same day; the other was still being treated for a head injury as of Friday afternoon.

Taylor was arrested at the scene and taken to Santa Monica Jail, where he was booked.

The homeless suspect, who was mostly incoherent, was not known to police, Aklufi said. "He wasn't on our radar before," she said. "We didn't get much information from him."

On Tuesday, the LA County District Attorney's office charged Taylor with two counts of attempted murder, one count of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury.

The DA added hate crime allegations to the other counts, police said.

Santa Monica police made seven arrests for hate crimes last year, according to crime data. Two of the incidents were anti-Black, two were anti-Jewish, and the other three were anti-Arab, anti-gay and anti-White.

"It is the mission of the Santa Monica Police Department to safeguard the rights of all individuals irrespective of their disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and/or association with a person or group with one or more of these perceived characteristics," the Police Department said.

SMPD Criminal Investigations Division (CID) detectives are seeking witnesses who may have been in the area at the time of last Friday's incidents.

Anyone with information concerning the incidents or suspect should call Detective Jacob Holloway at 310-458-8934, email him at Jacob.holloway@santamonica.gov or call the Watch Commander (24 hours) at 310-458-8426.