(3TV/CBS 5 Phoenix) A man was booked in jail after police said he attacked a flight attendant who was leaving Phoenix Sky Harbor early Friday morning.
Police are investigating it as a hate crime.
Investigators said 32-year-old Brandon Smith went after the woman around 2:15 a.m. when she was on a Sky Train platform at 44th Street and Van Buren Street. She was coming back from a flight, headed to her car.
“I was shocked but not really shocked because I’ve seen what’s around in the area. And there hasn’t been security or whatnot up here,” a flight attendant told Arizona’s Family. She’s referred to transient people who frequent the area.
She asked that we not give her name or what airline she works for. She could be fired for talking with us.
“I’m always making sure if I am alone here at night, if I get off a trip we’re pretty good that we have coworkers, pilots or whatnot that we’re making sure we’re going in pairs,” she said.
Arizona’s Family spoke with several flight attendants who said the 44th Street Sky Train stop is especially worrisome. It’s a long walk to their cars.
“I do see a lot of homeless out here near 44th Street and that has concerned me because you never know what attitude they’re going to have,” Kim Brown, an airport employee, said.
