21-year-old suffers brain bleed after U-District attack over parking space
Aug 5, 2026, 12:01 PM
(Photos courtesy of Tina Byrley-Norris via KIRO 7)
(Photos courtesy of Tina Byrley-Norris via KIRO 7)
A 21-year-old ended her birthday in the hospital bleeding from her brain after she was attacked in Seattle’s U-District neighborhood.
The attack took place in late June, near the corner of University Way N.E. and N.E. 45th Avenue. There have been no arrests in the case as of this writing, according to the Seattle Police Department.
The victim and her sister were reportedly sitting on a curb in a no-parking zone when they got into an argument with a driver who wanted to park there.
The family told KIRO 7 the two women refused to move, and the driver attacked them.
According to their mother, he repeatedly threw one of them to the ground and hit the other one on the head.
“I was there to make sure nothing happened,” Tina Byrley-Norris, the victims’ mother, said. “And I failed.”
Byrley-Norris and her three daughters traveled to Seattle from Granite Falls to celebrate the 21st birthday of her youngest. The night ended with the birthday girl unconscious and suffering from a brain bleed.
Byrley-Norris said she rushed outside just after midnight to find the birthday girl laid out on the sidewalk, unresponsive.
“She was not moving,” Byrley-Norris said. “I came over, and I tried waking her up, tried tapping on her face, hitting her hands. Nothing.”
Cheri Norris, the victim, told KIRO 7 she still does not remember the attack or the two hours leading up to it. She spent nearly two days recovering at Harborview.
“I had a black eye on this side, and I had a bruise on this side,” Norris said.
One of Norris’ sisters sprang into action and went looking for the man responsible, but he was already gone.
“I just ran down the road, trying to look for the guy, and I couldn’t find anyone,” Hailey Norris, Cheri’s sister, said.
Seattle police said the attacker was in a sedan, had a ponytail or rattail, and was in the car with two women. There is no description of the suspect beyond that.
“It does not appear that they looked for the person at all, even though they had a vague description of the car and they knew the area,” Byrley-Norris said. “They have said there is no more they can do.”
A police report obtained by KIRO 7 states investigators were unable to find surveillance video of the attack, the suspect, or his car.
“Unfortunately, at this point, I am basically at a dead end,” a detective wrote. “I really don’t have any other possible avenues of investigation.”
Byrley-Norris had a message to the person who hurt her daughters.
“Either I will find you, or someone will turn you in,” she said. “You will be caught. I am not going to stop.”
The attack happened just after midnight on June 23. The family said they are asking anyone with information on the suspect to come forward.
