Seattle woman was walking to 7-Eleven on her work break. She didn’t expect a racist stranger would bite a chunk from her forehead
It was only a short walk
A quick walk to a convenience store during a work break should be uneventful. For one Seattle woman, however, the trip allegedly ended with an injury serious enough to require surgery.
An encounter with a stranger can quickly become frightening, especially when an ordinary outing suddenly turns into harassment. Diana Gonzalez says the stranger did not stop at insults. The confrontation allegedly became both racist and violent.
According to Law&Crime, Gonzalez was walking toward a 7-Eleven on Third Avenue during her work break on Sept. 18 when 36-year-old Kamilia Chadli allegedly began throwing trash at her, spitting on her, and shouting racial slurs. What followed left Gonzalez with part of her forehead bitten off.
The details made it even more disturbing
Gonzalez recalled Chadli repeatedly telling her that she belonged to an “inferior race.” The harassment eventually turned into a physical struggle on the steps of the Arctic Club Hotel, where police allege Chadli grabbed Gonzalez and bit down on her forehead.
“I knew she was biting me,” Gonzalez recalled. At the time, however, she did not realize the extent of the injury. She later learned that the bite had gone through her skin and removed a piece of her forehead.
The attack left Gonzalez with injuries that she says will require surgery. In a GoFundMe description, she explained that the stranger allegedly targeted her with racist and homophobic slurs before pulling her to the ground. “A stranger targeted me with racist and homophobic slurs, pulled me to the ground, and bit a piece of my face off,” Gonzalez wrote. “I was taken to the hospital, and I am now living with permanent injuries that require surgery.”
The racist insults allegedly directed at Gonzalez are also central to how she views the attack. Chadli has been charged with second-degree assault, but Gonzalez wants authorities to pursue a hate crime charge as well. “Racially motivated violence can happen to anyone,” she said.
Police arrested Chadli while she was allegedly attempting to board a bus after the attack. She is being held on $150,000 bail. Court documents reportedly show that she has had numerous previous interactions with Seattle police and has undergone emergency mental health evaluations in the past.
A judge has now ordered Chadli to undergo another mental health evaluation. Gonzalez questioned whether Chadli’s actions immediately after the alleged attack showed that she understood what she was doing.
“She knew enough to flee the scene,” Gonzalez argued. She pointed to Chadli allegedly heading to a bus stop and trying to board a bus afterward. Gonzalez also claimed Chadli knew enough to lie about what happened.
Whether prosecutors will ultimately pursue the additional hate crime charge Gonzalez wants remains unclear. For now, Chadli faces a second-degree assault charge and is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 13.
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