Female jogger fights off rapist in public bathroom attack
- 7 years ago
SEATTLE — A jogger out for a run got the shock of her life over the weekend when she was ambushed and attacked by a convicted sex offender in a bathroom stall. But rather than be paralyzed by fear, she decided to fight back with everything she had.
On March 12, Kelly Herron, 36, was in four miles into a marathon training run when she made a pit stop for a bathroom break. As she was drying her hands, she felt a strange presence behind her, and within seconds she’d been knocked to the floor, getting punched in the face by a predator.
Herron tried to run into a bathroom stall, but the crazed man wouldn’t let her get away, following her in and striking her repeatedly. Having just taken a self-defense class days before, Herron’s survival instincts kicked in as she screamed out “Not today, motherfucker!!” Capitalizing on the adrenaline rush, she struck back while also clawing his face before escaping out of the stall. Luckily, a biker came by and lent her a carabiner to lock the door of the public bathroom, trapping the deviant until police could arrive.
The attacker, 40-year-old Gary Steiner, had a warrant out for his arrest for failing to register as a sex offender, having previously been convicted of sex abuse and indecent exposure in Arizona. When police showed up, he reportedly said to them “Kill me.”
Steiner has been charged with second-degree attempted rape, and reportedly told detectives he’d entered the bathroom with the intention of raping a woman.
On March 12, Kelly Herron, 36, was in four miles into a marathon training run when she made a pit stop for a bathroom break. As she was drying her hands, she felt a strange presence behind her, and within seconds she’d been knocked to the floor, getting punched in the face by a predator.
Herron tried to run into a bathroom stall, but the crazed man wouldn’t let her get away, following her in and striking her repeatedly. Having just taken a self-defense class days before, Herron’s survival instincts kicked in as she screamed out “Not today, motherfucker!!” Capitalizing on the adrenaline rush, she struck back while also clawing his face before escaping out of the stall. Luckily, a biker came by and lent her a carabiner to lock the door of the public bathroom, trapping the deviant until police could arrive.
The attacker, 40-year-old Gary Steiner, had a warrant out for his arrest for failing to register as a sex offender, having previously been convicted of sex abuse and indecent exposure in Arizona. When police showed up, he reportedly said to them “Kill me.”
Steiner has been charged with second-degree attempted rape, and reportedly told detectives he’d entered the bathroom with the intention of raping a woman.