A 36-year-old woman is facing surgery and permanent scarring after police say a stranger bit a chunk of flesh from her forehead during an unprovoked, bias-motivated attack in downtown Seattle. The assault happened around 3:45 p.m. on September 18 near 3rd Avenue and Marion Street as the woman walked to a convenience store near her workplace, according to police.
According to KOMO News, the woman called 911 after the encounter, telling dispatchers that someone had bitten her face. Officers arrived to find her with a large, bloody wound and missing flesh, police said. The station reports that another woman first threw a food wrapper at the victim; when the victim asked why, the suspect allegedly called her “the inferior race” and used a homophobic slur, according to police.
Per the same account, the confrontation escalated quickly. The suspect spat on the victim, grabbed her, and pulled her to the ground, police said, and during the struggle bit down on her forehead and tore away a piece of flesh about one inch in diameter, according to police. A nearby worker who witnessed the assault tried to separate the two women.
Suspect Caught After Worker Flags Down Courthouse Marshal
When the suspect fled, the same worker followed her and flagged down a King County marshal stationed at the courthouse, the report notes. Responding officers found blood on the sidewalk and, per the Seattle Police Department, retrieved the missing piece of flesh from a storm grate where the suspect had reportedly spat it out. The victim identified the suspect, who was arrested and booked into King County Jail. The victim was taken to Harborview for treatment, police said.
Police said the woman suffered permanent injuries and will need surgery. Seattle Police have referred the case to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. KOMO reported that prosecutors charged the suspect with second-degree assault; she had been arrested on suspicion of a hate crime offense.
What Charges Could the Suspect Face
Washington has a hate crime statute, RCW 9A.36.080, according to the Washington State Legislature. Prosecutors charged the suspect with second-degree assault, alleging substantial bodily harm. The Washington Criminal Jury Instructions discuss assault degrees.
Beyond criminal exposure, hate crime victims in Washington can also pursue civil action to recover actual damages, punitive damages of up to $100,000, and attorney fees under RCW 9A.36.083, according to the Washington State Attorney General's Office. Such civil claims do not require a prior criminal conviction. The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, led by Leesa Manion, maintains a Violent Crime Victim Advocacy Team and vulnerable population advocates to help victims like this one navigate felony court proceedings, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
A Pattern of Violence Along 3rd Avenue
The attack unfolded along a stretch of 3rd Avenue that has been a focus of Mayor Bruce Harrell's Downtown Activation Plan, which deployed a Downtown Activation Team and safety upgrades in late 2024 to address street crime, according to the Seattle Medium. It's the latest in a string of violent incidents along that corridor: Hoodline previously reported on a Belltown shooting near 3rd Avenue earlier this month.
Hate crimes remain a persistent statewide problem. Washington has ranked among the top five states nationally for reported hate crimes every year since 2018, according to FBI Uniform Crime Reporting statistics compiled by the state attorney general's office, which also notes that bias incidents remain underreported despite those high numbers. In response, the state launched a pilot non-emergency hate crimes and bias incidents hotline in King, Clark, and Spokane counties in July 2025 under Senate Substitute Bill 5427, with plans for statewide implementation by January 2027. That hotline offers victim support.
Hoodline reported in June on a slur-shouting attack outside a West Seattle CVS that similarly invoked the state's hate crime statute.
The Seattle Police Department noted in its blotter report that it operates the Safe Place Program, which partners local businesses with law enforcement to offer temporary shelter and specialized resources for victims of bias incidents and hate crimes. The defendant is Kamilia Chadli, who has been charged with second-degree assault.
