An unsettling video of a man dousing water on a homeless woman outside of a restaurant has gone viral — and it’s been a nightmare for the San Francisco business where the video was shot.
In the clip that’s been viewed over 3.6 million times, a man identified as Collier Gwin can be seen viciously spraying water on a woman while yelling and pointing at her to move while she tries to talk back to him.
Many took to the comments to call the act “beyond cruel” and “disgusting,” slamming the man for his actions.
This is horrible. This awful man is spraying a homeless woman down with a hose. You can hear her yell “Help Me!”
Does anyone recognize him? Is he affiliated with Barbarossa Lounge? This is inhumane and inexcusable.
Shout out to @briochessf for posting the video. pic.twitter.com/3ZKeRP4gar
— (((BrokeAssStuart))) (@BrokeAssStuart) January 10, 2023
“I just went from zero to raging mad,” one comment said.
Many eagle-eyed viewers noticed that Gwin was standing in front of Barbarossa Lounge, suggesting he may be employed at the eatery.
The restaurant clarified in a statement that the man was in no way affiliated with their business.
The clip was recorded by a man named Edson Garcia, who works next door at a cafe and shot it as he drove by and heard screaming.
“Sometimes you can do more with one video that you telling the community what’s happening through the city. Sometimes you do that to remind the people who we are,” Garcia told local news station KRON 4.
In a second video, Gwin doubled down on his actions and tried to justify the incident by inferring that the woman had been acting violently.
I just went down and confronted him during an interview with the chronicle pic.twitter.com/BMuQMJaoHl
— Darren Mckeeman (@tjcrowley) January 10, 2023
Gwin is the owner of the Foster Gwin Art Gallery, which is located nearby the restaurant where the incident occurred.
Coalition on Homelessness executive director Jennifer Friedenbach told KRON 4 that the woman was offered to be brought to a shelter. San Francisco Board President Aaron Peskin explained via social media that his team is “well acquainted” with the woman and that they have been “trying for many months to get her support.”