One Sunday afternoon while on a long-distance running practice, Kelly Herron visited a public park restroom. Unexpectedly, she encountered a shocking situation.
Upon noticing something amiss while drying her hands, Kelly turned around to find a man lurking in one of the bathroom stalls, standing right behind her.
Recalling the incident later, Kelly described how the man swiftly attacked her, attempting to commit a sexual assault.
During the struggle on the restroom floor, Kelly realized she had to fight with all her strength. Drawing on skills learned just weeks earlier in a self-defense class her employer had arranged, she applied techniques crucial in that critical moment.
Remembering the lesson to target vulnerable areas with force, she began striking the attacker’s head and fiercely defending herself despite sustaining injuries.
Successfully overpowering the assailant, she managed to escape under a stall door. Her screams attracted a passerby at Seattle’s Golden Gardens Park, who assisted in containing the attacker until law enforcement arrived.
In a moment of defiance, Kelly confronted her aggressor, defiantly declaring, “Not today, m***********!” Determined and enraged, she refused to succumb to fear, vowing to resist the assault at all costs.
The suspect, identified as 40-year-old Gary Steiner, a convicted sex offender, faced charges of attempted second-degree rape and second-degree assault, with bail set at $750,000.