Woman recounts attack in downtown Seattle

Woman recounts downtown Seattle attack

A woman is still recovering after she says she was attacked in downtown Seattle while asking two men to clean up after a dog they were walking.

SEATTLE - A woman is still recovering after she says she was attacked in downtown Seattle while asking two men to clean up after a dog they were walking.

The backstory:

The altercation happened near 1st and Union, outside a busy restaurant which was able to provide security video to police.

The Seattle woman also took cell phone video as she tried to identify the man she accused of attacking her Tuesday night.

"Turn around for me!," she shouted as he covered his head with a hood.

The man who was walking with the suspect, holding the dog's leash, did not participate in the attack, according to both the police and the alleged victim in this case.

The woman says it all started as she walked near Japonessa Sushi, and she questioned if the two were going to pick up after the dog.

"They looked to be walking away from this big steaming pile and that’s what started the assault," said the woman.

She says the man in the gray jacket snapped.

"Very normal dude and he just popped," said the woman.

Security video captured a fight outside the restaurant, which police are investigating.

A police report from SPD reads:

"We reviewed video footage at Japonesa that showed part of the altercation outside. It appeared that XXXX and the suspect were engaged in a physical fight. One portion shows XXXX on the ground, and she got up and re-engaged with the suspect. He backed away and then hit XXXX with his book bag."

What they're saying:

The woman told FOX 13 she was hit five times, with a backpack that appeared to be full of books, leaving her with scratches and bruises. She provided this picture of one of the injuries below.

"He swung so hard that he broke the strap off his bag," said the woman.

She says the second man did yell the name "Joshua" urging him to stop, but it was a restaurant host that was able to stop the violence.

"The only reason that person stopped hitting her was because my co-worker went out," said Jessica Pirruccio, a restaurant employee.

The host declined an interview, but co-worker Jessica Pirruccio and the victim in the case say he's a hero.

"He’s like, ‘I will defend you, this is not OK.' This person was actually crazy in my mind. How dare you put hands on a woman?," Pirruccio said.

As far as other clues, the reported victim in this case says the dog's harness or vest was red. The woman says the attacker was balding, had a beard, and wore sneakers with white soles.

"For a moment you can see him covering his face," she said, referring to the video she took after the altercation.

She says the other man that was with him wore burgundy loafers with gold buckles and carried what looked like a long, leather or suede, roll-up bag.

"One of the bags that got dropped looked like it had drafting tools or artists' tools in it," she said.

The woman says the man's glasses also fell off, which she picked up and gave to police. She is hoping someone can help to identify the man in gray who was involved in the altercation.

"I think the scary thing is, is it could have happened anywhere," said the woman.

Seattle Police sent out a short statement, saying, "This is an open and active assault investigation assigned to SPD’s Homicide and Assault Unit. Detectives typically have 3 months to work each case that they are assigned. Based on the available reports, there are no updates to this investigation."

The Source: Information in this story is from the Seattle Police Department and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.