Woman Uses Self-Defense Tactics To Escape Sexual Assault

Kelly Herron has made headlines as she used tactics from her self-defense class to fight off a man [...]

By William Cannon

Kelly Herron has made headlines as she used tactics from her self-defense class to fight off a man attempting to sexually assault her.

Herron was jogging in Seattle's Golden Gardens Park for a day of marathon training on Sunday. Four miles into her 10-mile run, the 36-year-old stopped to use a public restroom.

"As I was drying my hands I became aware that something was wrong," Herron said. When she turned around, she saw a man standing in the bathroom.

According to police documents, Gary Steiner, a 40-year-old registered level sex offender in Arizona — allegedly assaulted her.

"He immediately took me down to the ground, hit both my knees and legs, and then it was a fight on the bathroom floor and I just kept screaming, 'not today m—– f—–,' " Herron said.

My biggest running nightmare became reality- 4 miles into my long run Sunday afternoon, I stopped to use the restroom and was assaulted by a man hiding in a stall (that is my GPS in red lines). I fought for my life screaming("Not today, M**F**er!"), clawing his face, punching back, and desperately trying to escape his grip- never giving up. I was able to lock him in the bathroom until police arrived. Thankfully I just took a self-defense class offered at my work and utilized all of it. My face is stitched, my body is bruised, but my spirit is intact. #fightingchanceseattle #ballard #runnersafety #marathontraining #womensselfdefense #myballard #fightlikeagirl #fightback #dontbeavictim #nottodaymotherfucker #youcantbreakme #instarunners #garmin #garminvivosmarthr

A post shared by Kelly Herron (@run_kiwi_run) on

Herron described how she was able to briefly fend him off by going into a bathroom stall, even jamming the door. However, Steiner came into the stall from the side and "started beating me in the face with his hand."

During the altercation, Herron thought "this doesn't have to be a fair fight" and defended herself by using self-defense tactics that she had learned in a two-hour class just three weeks earlier.

"I was screaming at him, 'not today, m—– f—–.' Being loud and not afraid. I mean you are afraid, but letting him know you are not taking me down today. You are not going to win this fight," she told a local news station of clawing his face and escaping the bathroom.

According to court documents, Steiner was locked inside the stall after someone put a carabiner on the door. On Wednesday, prosecutors charged him with second-degree attempted rape after he allegedly told Seattle police that he went to the bathroom with the intention of raping a woman.

Following her incident, Herron returned to Golden Gardens Park Wednesday for the first time since she was attacked in the restroom.

"That was the only thing that was motivating me … I cannot be raped by this guy in this place," she said. "We don't have to go down. We don't have to be quiet about it."

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[H/T People]

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