Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Baseball-bat attack

O.B. crafts vendor tried to talk it out to no avail

X-ray of Christian Fischer's post-surgery elbow
X-ray of Christian Fischer's post-surgery elbow

Earlier this month, Christian Fischer’s life changed after three swings of a baseball bat in Ocean Beach that left him with injuries so severe, it may impact his livelihood forever.

"I put my arm up, heard the crack, and my whole arm went limp."

“The hospital said many things I hope to prove wrong,” says Fischer. “Said it would be over a year before I have almost full mobility in my arm back. It will never fully extend like it used to and I’ll need a year of physical therapy to even get that.”

Fischer is a staple at the OB Farmers’ Market every Wednesday, selling his crystals, oils, and dream-catchers, and during the week he can be found along the seawall at the foot of Newport Avenue selling his wares.

Sponsored
Sponsored

On Sunday, February 18, Fischer had set up shop along the seawall in O.B. At about 6:30 p.m., he sold a crystal to guy who felt he was overcharged by $10.

“He assumed I ripped him off and came back for a refund, which he got,” says Fischer. “Then he threatened me after that. He told me he could clear me outta OB. Five minutes later, another guy on a skateboard skated by and stole most of my friend Megan’s art, another artist on the wall, so I ran after him. He took Niagara Avenue and I headed up the alley. When the guy came out, I ran into him head-on. He fell in the street, threw the art up, and said, ‘He made me do it’….

"I got the art back and cussed him out. When I got to the sidewalk I was cracked from behind with a skateboard to the head. Turned to see it was the guy who returned the crystal; this was the guy who ‘made him do it.’”

The head injury left a bump and pain.

“How I don’t know, but like an idiot I kept feeling like I could solve this situation with my words, so I returned the art and went back up Niagara to talk this out. He saw me, jumped the white concrete wall [behind Nati’s], opened a car trunk, and pulled out a metal baseball bat. I didn’t think he was serious, and I still tried talking to him for maybe a few seconds and then he swung towards my head.

"I put my arm up, heard the crack, and my whole arm went limp. As I turned, he hit me two more times in the side, and as I ran away he got me one last time in the lower back. I ran down the alley behind the police station, didn’t see police, and then someone said they could see bone from my injury so I went to the ER.”

His surgery was more complicated than doctors originally anticipated.

“Surgery was supposed to be an hour but took four instead. I was admitted Sunday night and out by Wednesday for farmers’ market; 48 staples and a bunch of screws. They literally had to screw my elbow back on....

“Obviously making my art one-handed is super hard. Plus that’s my livelihood so that whole situation crashed my ability to support myself properly with my art."

SDPD detectives are investigating the assault, and it is believed that the attacker has shaved his facial hair since the incident.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Trump disses digital catapults

Biden likes General Atomics drones
X-ray of Christian Fischer's post-surgery elbow
X-ray of Christian Fischer's post-surgery elbow

Earlier this month, Christian Fischer’s life changed after three swings of a baseball bat in Ocean Beach that left him with injuries so severe, it may impact his livelihood forever.

"I put my arm up, heard the crack, and my whole arm went limp."

“The hospital said many things I hope to prove wrong,” says Fischer. “Said it would be over a year before I have almost full mobility in my arm back. It will never fully extend like it used to and I’ll need a year of physical therapy to even get that.”

Fischer is a staple at the OB Farmers’ Market every Wednesday, selling his crystals, oils, and dream-catchers, and during the week he can be found along the seawall at the foot of Newport Avenue selling his wares.

Sponsored
Sponsored

On Sunday, February 18, Fischer had set up shop along the seawall in O.B. At about 6:30 p.m., he sold a crystal to guy who felt he was overcharged by $10.

“He assumed I ripped him off and came back for a refund, which he got,” says Fischer. “Then he threatened me after that. He told me he could clear me outta OB. Five minutes later, another guy on a skateboard skated by and stole most of my friend Megan’s art, another artist on the wall, so I ran after him. He took Niagara Avenue and I headed up the alley. When the guy came out, I ran into him head-on. He fell in the street, threw the art up, and said, ‘He made me do it’….

"I got the art back and cussed him out. When I got to the sidewalk I was cracked from behind with a skateboard to the head. Turned to see it was the guy who returned the crystal; this was the guy who ‘made him do it.’”

The head injury left a bump and pain.

“How I don’t know, but like an idiot I kept feeling like I could solve this situation with my words, so I returned the art and went back up Niagara to talk this out. He saw me, jumped the white concrete wall [behind Nati’s], opened a car trunk, and pulled out a metal baseball bat. I didn’t think he was serious, and I still tried talking to him for maybe a few seconds and then he swung towards my head.

"I put my arm up, heard the crack, and my whole arm went limp. As I turned, he hit me two more times in the side, and as I ran away he got me one last time in the lower back. I ran down the alley behind the police station, didn’t see police, and then someone said they could see bone from my injury so I went to the ER.”

His surgery was more complicated than doctors originally anticipated.

“Surgery was supposed to be an hour but took four instead. I was admitted Sunday night and out by Wednesday for farmers’ market; 48 staples and a bunch of screws. They literally had to screw my elbow back on....

“Obviously making my art one-handed is super hard. Plus that’s my livelihood so that whole situation crashed my ability to support myself properly with my art."

SDPD detectives are investigating the assault, and it is believed that the attacker has shaved his facial hair since the incident.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Ben Benavente, Karl Denson, Schizophonics, Matt Heinecke, Frankie & the Witch Fingers

Troubadours, ensembles, and Kosmic Konvergences in Mission Beach, Del Mar, Little Italy, La Jolla, City Heights
Next Article

Big Swell Rolls in for Christmas – Rockfish Closure

Big wahoo down south
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader