Woman who fought off attacker after he chased her around gym sends message to other women

A woman who fought off her attacker after he chased her around a gym has spoken out about her traumatic experience.

Nashali Alma was working out in her apartment complex gym in Florida, United States, when she stopped to open the door for a man who appeared to have lost his key fob.

However, shortly afterwards the man approached the 24-year-old only to be pushed away by Alma. CCTV footage caught the man chasing her around the gym while she tried to call 911 before trying to pin her down.

The man pinned her down but Alma managed to fight him off an escape.

In an interview with TMZ Live, Alma explained how she was able to fight off her attacker.

"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.'

"He 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.' That's when he grabbed me and we started going at it.

"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.

"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, 25, was arrested and faces charges of sexual battery, false imprisonment and kidnapping.

After describing how she escaped, Alma had a message for other women that might find themselves in a similar situation.

"My advice would be to never give up," she said.

"As long as you don't give up, you fight back, you show him that you are strong, that you are able to fight back and survive and get out of the situation, I believe it's possible."

Sheriff Chad Chronister said he was 'grateful' that Alma came forward about her ordeal.

"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."

Topics: Gym, United States

Alex Brotherton

Alex Brotherton is a Sports Trends Writer at SPORTbible. He has previously worked with publications including the Manchester Evening News, GOAL and BBC Sport. He is a football fanatic, but also dabbles in tennis and American football. He enjoys running, cooking and watching non-league football.

@alex_brotherton