Based on police reports, authorities were alerted Tuesday afternoon by staff at Harborview Medical Center after a 60-year-old woman arrived suffering from serious injuries. She sustained multiple broken ribs, internal bleeding from intestinal trauma, and bruises indicative of strangulation severe enough to cause her to lose consciousness. The alleged assault took place at the apartment she shared with her son, located near 7th Avenue and Olive Way in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
Investigators report that the woman’s son had grown obsessed with a person he believed to be a TikTok personality residing in China. The online figure supposedly requested money from him, and his mother initially gave him $300 to pass along. When he later asked for more funds in hopes of eventually traveling to China to meet the influencer—and his mother refused—he turned violent. According to the victim, this was not the first time he had attacked her; she revealed he had previously assaulted her in 2005, though she chose not to report it at the time.
After coming to, the woman drove herself to the hospital but collapsed shortly after arriving. When police went to apprehend the suspect at his home, he was no longer there. Law enforcement believes he has since flown to China in pursuit of the TikTok creator. Officials have not verified the identity or authenticity of the social media account, and have indicated it might be part of a fraudulent scheme.
The case remains under investigation as a felony domestic violence incident.
