Los Angeles Custodial Worker and Union Advocate Fatally Stabbed When Stopping Attempted Intrusion at Apartment

Tomas Mejia, a union member and custodian for a Los Angeles apartment complex, was stabbed several times by an intruder attempting to enter the apartment building in which he worked, officials said. 

Mejia, who was originally from El Salvador, worked as a custodian at Park La Brea, a Los Angeles apartment complex, authorities said. 

According to the LAPD, an intruder attempted to break into the building and Mejia blocked his entrance. The intruder, described as a white teenager, then stabbed the 50-year-old several times before fleeing on foot.

Mejia was identified by the union SEIU, the United Service Workers West, where he had served on the board for 25 years, reported KTLA.

“I am devastated because we lost a genuine and authentic voice that has been silenced by an act of violence,” a statement from the SEIU said. 

The GoFundMe created to aid in Mejia’s funeral expenses stated that he dedicated his life to protecting the working community as a peer-to-peer advocate in the Ya Basta Center, also known as a Compadre. 

This center fights against patriarchy, sexual violence, domestic violence and the dangers that immigrant workers often face on the night shift as custodial workers.

“Rest in power Tomas Mejia,” reads Mejia’s fundraising page.

“His spirit of fighting for others will live through all of us that he has touched over the years. Tomas Mejia, warrior, friend, leader, husband and father.”

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