A Vancouver woman who was struck in the head with a large piece of wood, in what police are calling an unprovoked attack at Kitsilano Beach, said she is afraid to go out alone after learning the suspect has been released from custody.
Sila Tekin was walking along the beach with her boyfriend the afternoon of June 28, when a stranger approached from behind and hit her in the skull with what witnesses described as a piece of driftwood the size of a baseball bat.
“How am I supposed to resume my life?” she said to CTV News.
“He could be here any moment, and he could be doing what he did to me to anyone, any moment,” she added.
Tekin remembers very little after being struck, until she woke up in the emergency room at Vancouver General Hospital.
“There are these two police officers, a lady and a gentleman, standing to the left and my partner to the right,” she recalled.
‘Down on her knees in agony’
Her boyfriend Misha Kleider told CTV News that he saw the suspect trying to swing at her again.
“I jump between her and the assailant. He goes to take another swing at her, but I’m there,” said Kleider, describing what happened.
“She crumples. She’s down on her knees in agony, holding her head in her hands,” he said. “I think she’s dying, right? Because she just got hit in the head with a log the size of a baseball bat.”
Vancouver police confirmed the attack happened in front of several witnesses, with lifeguards and Good Samaritans helping with first aid.
Carlos Caldera Duarte was arrested at a dollar store nearby after being followed there by a witness, and has been charged with one count of assault with a weapon.
The accused was released from custody on Tuesday after spending fewer than 48 hours in jail. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 7.
Tekin said the release has left her questioning how she can possibly feel safe.
“I don’t think I want to be here anymore,” she said from the beach. “I was thinking, ‘Can I get a mean dog? I want a bodyguard.’ How can I resume my life ever feeling normal?”
