A 'cruel and cold’ man has been slammed for dousing a homeless woman with water in a shocking clip.
With San Francisco once again struggling with the increasing number of unhoused people, a video of a business owner spraying a woman with water from a garden hose has gone viral online.
Video footage, captured on Monday morning by a bakery owner, shows a businessman leaning casually against a restaurant gate while using a hose to squirt water at a woman, as she screamed in fright.
The man has been identified as art gallery owner Collier Gwin, who runs Foster Gwin Gallery in the Financial District of San Francisco and whose clients once included David Rockefeller and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
As the video was shared online, many locals and people on social media took to slam the businessman, condemning him of his actions.
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The viral video has angered many people online (@briochesf/TikTok)
Collier Gwin splashed the woman with the water, despite plunging temperatures in San Francisco (@briochesf/TikTok)Meanwhile, other enraged social media users sought revenge by leaving a string of dreadful reviews of the art gallery online, causing the business's rating on Google to plunge to one star.
While the victim in the video has not been identified - but has reportedly been seen in the neighborhood before - the clip clearly shows Gwin spraying the woman, who was crying out in distress.
And in a calm voice he can be heard saying “Just move,” before spraying her again.
Collier Gwin has faced backlash after the video was posted online (FOX ktvu)After admitting to being the man in the video, Gwin tried to defend his actions.
He claimed that the unidentifiable woman had become psychotic and was turning over garbage cans, that he is later forced to clean up.
Gwin, who did not express remorse for his actions, told The San Francisco Chronicle that he instructed the woman to swiftly move on from his property, saying: "I said you have to move, I cannot clean the street, move down.
"She starts screaming bellingent things, spitting, yelling at me... at that point she was so out of control... I spray her with the hose and say move, move. I will help you..."
Homeless people are seen in San Francisco, California on December 12, 2022 (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)He added that: “I’m only sorry that … my way of helping her countlessly has gotten nothing done.”
The businessman seemed to partially admit to his heartless actions, by saying: “It was really just cruel and cold. And I think most people who saw the video were really taken aback by the callousness and lack of feeling of the act."
The chef of Brioche Cafe, who captured the video, said he saw the scene unfold while making an early morning delivery around 6am.
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Edson Garcia told The Chronicle that he immediately started recording what was unfolding, saying: "I was shocked. I know that lady."
A local business owner said that he recognised the woman (Google Maps)He added that he hopes the video can speak louder than he was able to in the moment, as Monday’s incident was not the first time a resident or institution doused a homeless person with water - following St. Mary’s Cathedral in the city in 2015 installing sprinklers in the ample doorways.
Since being posted online, the video has garnered almost nine million views and has shocked users online.
Commenters called Gwin’s actions “reprehensible” and “evil”.
Another person wrote: "This is criminal."
While another said: "It’s the body positioning for me. The smug entitlement at his own casual cruelty. It’s heinous.."
And a fourth angrily commented: "OMG! The inhumanity is just rampant in our society."
Meanwhile, the gallery’s Google page had been taken down by Tuesday afternoon, after dozens of of one-star reviews on its Yelp page referenced the video.
The business owner says that he told the woman to 'move down' as he 'cannot clean the street' (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Many took to comment on the recommendations website saying that they would "not support this evil man's business."
The San Francisco police confirmed that officers responded to the incident on Monday, with a spokesperson for the department saying: “Officers interviewed both parties who declined further police action at that time".
The video follows the escalating housing and homelessness crisis in the city of San Francisco.
The number of homeless people tallied to almost 8,000, in February - which is the second highest figure of any year since 2005, according to the official government count which takes place every three years.
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