A man is in custody after surveillance footage helped police track him down following a brutal pipe attack on a woman in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District (CID).
The incident happened just before around 10 p.m. on Aug. 20, near 12th Avenue South and South King Street. People nearby called 911 after hearing a woman screaming.
When officers arrived, they found a 55-year-old woman “moaning in pain and clutching her right arm,” according to the police report. She told them she feared for her life during the attack.
Medics treated her at the scene and took her to Harborview Medical Center. Her current condition hasn’t been made public.
What really helped piece together what happened was footage from a city-owned street camera. According to police, the video shows the man and woman getting into an argument while she sat on a concrete barrier. At one point, the man struck her with his hand and tried to kick her. She tried to defend herself and backed away.
Moments later, the man returned holding a metal pipe. The video shows him hitting her with it while she tries to shield herself with her arm.
Officers found the man nearby and arrested him. He was booked into King County Jail on suspicion of assault.