'When he grabbed me I started off with punching him in his head with my phone'
A woman who fought off an attacker in her gym in a terrifying incident that was captured on CCTV has detailed the mindset that allowed her to overcome the ordeal.
"My advice would be to never give up," Nashali Alma said of surviving the attack that happened while she was exercising alone in her apartment complex's gym on 22 January.
The 24-year-old had let a man in after he appeared at the door, assuming he was there to work out. He then set upon her. Video of the incident shows Alma battering the man, later identified as 25-year-old Xavier Thomas-Jones, around the head afer he pursued her around the facility.
"My parents always told me in life to never give up or anything, and that's one thing I always kept in my mind when I was fighting him," Alma said in a video interview released by the sheriff's office.
"As long as you don't give up, you fight back, you show him, that you are strong, that you are one, that you're able to fight back and survive and get out of the situation. I believe it is possible."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sG8fU-zcG8
In the security footage, the man can be seen approaching Alma, who returns to her workout after letting him in.
After he gets close to her, Alma shoves him away, and then moves to the other side of the gym while the man pursues her.
She then tries to call the police as the man tries to grab her and the scene turns violent.
Reflecting on the ordeal, Alma explained how it unfolded to
TMZ: "I was there alone, working out. I was in the middle of my set and I hear a knock on the door, and some people do forget their key fobs, and so I just let him in and I didn't really pay too much attention. I just went back to finish up my workout.
"For the first half of the encounter he didn't say a single word to me, it was just me talking like, 'What are you doing bro? Get the f- away from me.'"
She said her attacker wasn't "exchanging any words until we reached the other side of the gym where I was trying to call 911 and he said, 'Don't do that. Don't call nobody.'"
Alma continued: "That's when he grabbed me and we started going at it."
Asked how she managed to ultimately fend off the man who was clearly much bigger than her, Alma said: "As you can see in the video, when he grabbed me I started off with punching him in his head with my phone, then I started jabbing him with my left hand.
"Then we ended up on the floor for a little bit, and off the camera - you don't see it obviously - he was trying to put me in a chokehold and I somehow slipped out of it, I elbowed him in the face and I grabbed all of his beard hairs.
[caption id="attachment_378602" align="alignnone" width="850"]
Xavier Thomas-Jones was arrested. Credit: HCSOSheriff[/caption]
"I started twisting it and twisting it, and that's when you see me standing up, and I just tell him, 'Get off,' and he kind of just let go, and I just ran out."
Xavier Thomas-Jones was later arrested and faces charges of sexual battery, false imprisonment and kidnapping.
Sheriff Chad Chronister said that he was "grateful" that Alma came forward.
"I was disgusted by the suspect's actions, how he preyed on this young woman. This woman's strength, courage, and determination are inspiring," he said.
"I know her story is going to be an inspiration to other women."
Alma hasn't stopped workout and says she's received an outpouring of love following the attack.
"I'm actually feeling really good," she said. "
The last two days I've woken up to a lot of people just being so supportive, showing a lot of love - it feels great."
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