A woman has been arrested and charged in connection with an assault on a council member in California.
Newark City Councilmember Eve Marie Little said she was attacked while speaking to constituents at a local park before Election Day.
According to the New York Post, Little said she was talking to basketball players at a park about upcoming changes planned for green spaces when she was struck from behind by a female suspect.
“I felt this mad energy just hit me in my back,” Little said about the attack, according to the New York Post.
“And she took out my knees and my shoulder blade, and I fell on the ground. It just turned into a tumble,” she added.
Newark City Councilmember Eve Marie Little says she was violently attacked from behind at a park, leaving her with significant injuries and extensive medical care less than two weeks before Election Day. A 31-year-old Fremont woman was arrested in the attack.
"I just don't… pic.twitter.com/DEYGNgQmFs
— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) November 6, 2026
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Images of Little’s face showed dark purple bruising around her eye.
“I couldn’t get her off of me. I kept saying, ‘What are you doing? I haven’t done anything to you. Why are you hurting me?’ the councilmember added.
“And she just kept pounding my face, and I almost felt like I was going to be unconscious at a certain point.”
Little said she never expected to be subjected to such a violent assault and doesn’t understand “how there can be hate in the world like this.”
“Never did I think talking to people about what changes and positive things you want to do in our park was going to end slightly unconscious in a park,” she said.
“I’ve had MRIs, CT scans, X-rays. My fingers have bruising all over from fighting back. My shoulder blade is out. My face is bruised.”
“Rosario Lopez, 31, charged by @AlamedaCountyDA w/felony battery w/serious bodily injury for jumping #NewarkCA Councilmember Eve Marie Little from behind in unprovoked attack at park,” KTVU crime reporter Henry K. Lee said.
Rosario Lopez, 31, charged by @AlamedaCountyDA w/felony battery w/serious bodily injury for jumping #NewarkCA Councilmember Eve Marie Little from behind in unprovoked attack at park, per @NewarkCA_Police, aided by @flocksafety. "I feel betrayed by people," councilmember says pic.twitter.com/6DN0W4PMmV
— Henry K. Lee (@henrykleeKTVU) November 6, 2026
“They think there might be a hairline fracture on my skull. I also have a brain tumor, and it’s on my right side of my head. So the doctors are concerned that it may have, you know, there may be an effect on that. So I have an MRI coming up for that,” Little said, according to KTVU.
“The entire time she was hitting my face, she never said one word,” Little added.
KTVU shared further:
Little said a bystander heard her cry out and followed the suspect’s vehicle, which left the scene reaching speeds of up to 80 mph.
The bystander was able to give police a detailed description which Newark Police said helped investigators locate a suspect.
“Our investigators were able to dig through our ALPR system and that led to the identification of the suspect. This investigation is a testament to its capabilities and its ability to help us solve crimes,” Lt. Yama Homayoun said.
“I wish that I could thank him for what he did because it leaves me with a sliver of hope that people care,” Little said.
The Newark Police Department identified the suspect as Rosario Lopez, 31, of Fremont, who they allege physically attacked Little and fled the scene in a white four-door sedan.
She was booked on a charge of aggravated battery and later released on bail.
Police arrested Lopez on Oct. 29.
And the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office charged her with one felony count of battery causing serious bodily injury, charging documents show.
ADVERTISEMENTPolice have not provided a motive for the alleged attack, and as of Thursday, Lopez was not in custody.
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