‘She is my world’: Mother of Tempe victim attacked at community center worried about potential brain damage

TEMPE, Ariz. — The mother of a woman attacked this week at a Tempe community center said her daughter is recovering but remains under close medical watch after being assaulted while working.

Jesika Gutierrez spoke exclusively with 12News about the incident that sent her 33-year-old daughter, Chantelle Gutierrez, to the hospital following an attack at the Escalante Multi-Generational Center.

Video reportedly showed the suspect, 62-year-old Derek Kirven, walk up to Chantelle Gutierrez, then punch and push her down to the ground while she was working at the facility.

She was one of several victims in the attack and remained on the floor for approximately 10 minutes afterward, her mother said.

Gutierrez said her daughter is intellectually challenged and suffers from seizures. Chantelle is part of Pathway to Work, a program that teaches people with special needs independent living skills and helps them find careers. Her job at the Tempe community center involved serving food to seniors.

“She was in the process of bringing out the desserts and other things when the chaos all ensued,” her mother said.

According to court records, Kirven was in a members-only area of the center and was asked to leave. He refused and began attacking seniors. One victim suffered a broken wrist, and another was left with a broken nose. 

“The incident is disturbing in the sense that this is a center that people go there to get help,” Gutierrez said.

Kirven was arrested following the attack. Gutierrez said her daughter called her parents immediately afterward.

“Right away she was crying, frantic,” she said. “She had some blood on her face. She seemed a little bit stunned, but she was able to communicate with me.”

Chantelle was taken to the emergency room. Her parents believed she may have a concussion and were also concerned about a shunt in her body.

“It basically takes the cerebral excess, cerebral spinal fluid from her head, and drains it away so that she has the same pressure as everyone else,” Gutierrez said.

Doctors were not able to determine whether Chantelle had a concussion, according to her mom, or if the shunt was working properly.

“If it does not, it’s a major big deal,” her mother said.

The family says the condition could possibly require brain surgery to fix. They are waiting to see a neurologist and are closely monitoring her condition.

“She is my world, and it can change in an instant,” Gutierrez said.

All from an incident Gutierrez never thought would happen.

“Having this attack done and having this brain injury, potentially so close to having a seizure, is pretty scary, as in, any parent would be anybody, whether it was an adult, a child, anything, it’s scary,” she said.

Gutierrez said her daughter is in good spirits and shared a video statement with 12News where Chantelle said: 

I’m doing a lot better. The most important thing is when you fall you get back up. I’m praying for everybody who else who got injured at this time. I know how much they love that Escalante center location, and they eat there, and they’re elderly people. Thank you to the police department, the fire department, who got there quickly, really needed you when you came through.

While Chantelle wants to return to work, her mother said she wants to see changes at the facility.

“There was a concern for, clearly, the security and if they’re going to increase that,” she said.

When asked about the suspect, Gutierrez said she wants accountability.

“If he’s found competent, I want him, as my daughter said, I want him to go to jail. I want him to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” she said. “But should he need help? I hope people he gets it.”

According to arrest documents, it claimed Kirven told detectives he intentionally targeted white and Mexican people and said he hoped more than one of them would die from their injuries. It also claimed he told detectives he would attack more people if given the chance.

Kirven is being held on a $500,000 bond.

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