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Journalism of Courage
A woman was doing her regular workout routine in her apartment complex’s gym in Hillsborough County in Florida, US, when she was attacked by a man. However, the 24-year-old bravely fought off the attacker and managed to escape before alerting police.
The incident took place back on January 22, when Nashali Alma was alone in the gym. The attacker, now identified as 25-year-old Xavier Thomas-Jones, tried to grab her after he entered the gym.
When he did not back away even after Alma asked him to leave, the two got into a fight. Alma also tried to call police and escape from the gym as Jones pinned her to the floor. A bodybuilder, Alma was able to fight off the attacker and escape safely.
The incident was captured on the gym’s CCTV camera. Earlier this week, the Hillsborough County sheriff’s office made the CCTV footage public and also released a testimony by Alma in which she recalled her ordeal.
In the video testimony, she advised women to “not give up” when they are faced with similar attacks and said, “As long as you fight back and show him that you’re strong and you’re not giving up, I believe it’s possible to escape. It’s better to reach out to law enforcement sooner than later. The sooner they have the information, the sooner they can catch that person.”
As per CBS News, Jones was arrested within 24 hours by police. It was also reported that earlier that day, he had attempted to enter another woman’s apartment forcefully.
