A random attack in downtown Seattle last week left a woman with a facial injury she compared to a “zombie bite.”
Diana Gonzalez, 36, said she was walking to a 7-Eleven when a woman identified by authorities as Kamilia Chadli, who is homeless, allegedly threw a food wrapper at her. After Gonzalez questioned her, Chadli allegedly spit on her, used a homophobic slur and called her “the inferior race.”
Chadli then allegedly attacked Gonzalez and knocked her to the ground.
According to police, Chadli allegedly bit Gonzalez on the forehead, removing a piece of flesh. A nearby witness intervened, separated the women and followed Chadli after she allegedly ran from the scene. Seattle police later arrested her, and she was charged with felony second-degree assault.
Gonzalez was hospitalized and is recovering from her injuries.
She said she had simply been trying to buy a drink while working when the alleged assault occurred.
“This was a totally random attack,” Gonzalez told NBC 16 in an interview, with a large white bandage covering her forehead. “She started yelling racist things after throwing trash and spitting on me. Then she bit my face — she bit a piece of my face off.”
Gonzalez said she was stunned when she first saw the extent of the injury.
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“I was like ‘Oh my god,’ because it looks like a zombie bite, like in a movie that you would see,” she said.
Police said Gonzalez is expected to have permanent scarring on her forehead. The piece of flesh allegedly removed from her head measured about one inch in diameter. Officers also found a piece of flesh in a nearby grate that Chadli allegedly spat out.
Images shared with NBC 16 showed blood running down the right side of Gonzalez’s face. Police said she required a skin graft to close the wound.
Chadli was initially booked into King County Jail on suspicion of a hate crime. Prosecutors later charged her with second-degree assault. She remains jailed on $150,000 bail, and her arraignment is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Sept. 28.
Gonzalez said she wants the charge to remain in place and hopes Chadli receives a lengthy prison sentence, along with mental-health treatment even if she accepts a plea deal.
“I’m just concerned that she would do it again because it was so random,” Gonzalez said.
The attack has left Gonzalez struggling to process how a woman on the street could allegedly bite her and remove flesh from her face.
“I can’t believe she bit a piece of my face off,” Gonzalez said. “That’s the main thing that is still shocking. I can’t believe it.”
