Woman arrested for hate crime in Seattle after yelling slur and biting chunk off stranger’s face
Sep 25, 2026, 5:00 AM | Updated: 6:35 am
A photo of a Seattle Police Department vehicle. (Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
Warning: The following story contains graphic details that some readers may find disturbing
A 36-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a stranger during what Seattle police called a “violent hate crime attack.”
On Sept. 18 around 3:45 p.m., police were called to the intersection of 3rd Avenue and Marion Street, near the 7-Eleven on the corner, for reports of a woman who had been violently attacked.
Officers arrived and found her with a large, bloody wound and a “chunk of flesh” missing from her face, police wrote.
The victim told police she was attacked by a stranger.
She told police that a random woman threw a food wrapper at her as she walked past. When the victim asked why the woman threw the wrapper, the woman yelled at her that “you’re the inferior race” and started calling her a homophobic slur, police said.
The suspect then stood up and spit on the victim before grabbing her and pulling her to the ground. While the two women were on the ground, the suspect sank her teeth into the victim’s forehead, causing a 1-inch diameter gash, police said.
A witness saw the attack and tried to pull the suspect off the victim. The witness also chased after the suspect and was able to wave down a King County Marshall at the courthouse.
The suspect, also a 36-year-old woman, was arrested and booked for hate crime offense and felony assault charges.
Seattle police said the victim was taken to a hospital for treatment, and that she was left with “permanent injuries [that] require surgery.”
Learn more about reporting hate crimes and the SPD Safe Place Program here.
