Why We Carry: Woman Randomly Assaults Two People In Drug Store Parking Lot

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – A man was choked, and a woman was struck with a bottle and nearly stabbed by another woman in Seattle Tuesday evening. SPD officers were dispatched to the Walgreen’s parking lot in the 2300 block of South Jackson Street in the Central District around 6:20 p.m.

They found a man and woman who were victims of a physical attack by a woman. According to officers, the suspect approached the man from behind, placed her arm around his neck and began choking him. He told police that her grip was so tight that he couldn’t break free and was beginning to lose consciousness when another woman intervened on his behalf.

That woman told officers that the suspect then picked up a bottle and struck her in the head with it, then lunged at her throat with the broken bottle in her hand. The SPD report quoted the woman who intervened as saying, “the only thing that prevented her from being stabbed was the fact that she was already falling from the blow to her head and the lunge missed.”

Officers were able to locate the suspect near the scene and arrest her. She was positively identified by both victims just before they were transported to the hospital for evaluation. The woman, who was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of two counts of felony assault, was found to be in possession of an illegal knife and an undisclosed quantity of heroin.

This is yet another reminder that anyone can be a victim of a violent crime at any place and any time. In this case, there were two victims, one who never saw the attack coming and another who intervened to help the victim and then also became a victim. Washington State law allows a person to use reasonable force to defend themselves when they are being attacked.