Woodinville Starbucks Attack: Mother Recalls Assault On Child

WOODINVILLE, WA - About 20 minutes before she went to Starbucks, Jessica had bought a brand new stroller for her 8-month-old son, Ash. An autoimmune disease affects her hands and makes it hard to handle small objects. The new stroller came with straps that she could easily use, and that might save Ash's life.

Jessica was inside a downtown Woodinville Starbucks Sunday afternoon when a woman entered the coffee shop and began hitting patrons. The woman then lunged for Ash, trying to pull him out of the stroller, Jessica recalls.

"All I could think of was if she gets him out, he's dead," she said.

Jessica (who didn't want her last name used) and the attacker struggled, and Ash's stroller tipped over. The attacker then tried to kick Ash. Luckily, she only grazed the boy's head. Two Starbucks patrons restrained the woman before she was able to do any more damage.

According to King County Sheriff spokeswoman Sgt. Cindi West, Woodinville deputies were dispatched to the Starbucks along Northeast 175th Street around 12:30 p.m. Sunday on a report of a fight in progress. Witnesses told police the woman entered the store and starting hitting people on the head. She was arrested on a charge of assault on a child, West said, and taken to the King County Jail.

Police were aware of the woman before the attack. She had been seen at a local apartment complex screaming and apparently smeared feces on the Starbucks building before the attack. Police have said the 38-year-old woman was having a mental health crisis.

Jessica took Ash to the doctor on Monday and, except for a scrape on his head, he was in perfect health. The incident reminded her of the woman who was stabbed in West Seattle in early October while pushing her child in a stroller.

The incident taught her an important lesson: No matter where you are or how safe you feel, keep your kids strapped in their stroller. She also wants to thank the two men who restrained the woman before she could hurt Ash any further.

"If she would've gotten him out of the stroller, I think we all know what would've happened," she said. "It's scary to think this is happening and people aren't aware."

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