A Washington state woman says she was viciously attacked by a stranger who sank her teeth into her forehead and tore away a piece of skin.
“I knew she was biting me,” Diana Gonzalez said in an interview with KOMO. “I didn’t know she was biting through the skin.”
The incident happened on Sept. 18 in downtown Seattle. Gonzalez was walking to a 7-Eleven on Third Avenue during her work break when Kamilia Chadli, 36, allegedly began throwing trash at her, spitting on her and screaming racial slurs.
“Whatever state of mind she was in, she just kept telling me I was an inferior race,” Gonzalez told KOMO.
According to Gonzalez, the random confrontation escalated into a violent struggle on the steps of the Arctic Club Hotel. Police say Chadli grabbed Gonzalez and bit down on her forehead.
Gonzalez described the attack in a GoFundMe post. “I was assaulted in downtown Seattle in a hate crime while walking to a convenience store near my work,” she wrote. “A stranger targeted me with racist and homophobic slurs, pulled me to the ground, and bit a piece of my face off. I was taken to the hospital, and I am now living with permanent injuries that require surgery.”
As of Tuesday, Chadli has been charged with second-degree assault. Gonzalez told KOMO she believes prosecutors should also bring a hate crime charge.
“Racially motivated violence can happen to anyone,” Gonzalez said.
Chadli was arrested as she tried to board a bus and is being held on $150,000 bail. A judge has ordered her to undergo a mental health evaluation.
Court documents reviewed by KOMO show Chadli has a “lengthy history of police reports and interactions with Seattle Police” and has previously been “emergently detained for mental health evaluation,” according to the outlet.
Gonzalez said she believes the suspect was aware of what she was doing. “She knew enough to flee the scene,” Gonzalez said. “She knew enough to go to the bus stop to try to get on the bus. She knew enough to lie, and I’m pretty sure she knows enough not to be in jail speaking that way.”
Chadli is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 13.