Victim speaks after assault on Rainey Street

An Austin woman is recovering after being attacked at a Rainey Street bar. While she is keeping her identity hidden out of concern for her safety, she says she is telling her story so others can be more aware and alert when they go out for drinks. 

Two weeks ago, she went to Container Bar for a birthday party. But it turned out to be anything but that. Things escalated when an uninvited guest showed up in one of the private rooms of the bar.

“All I could feel was a hand grab my left waist and someone beginning to grind on me,” she said.

After she politely told the stranger to leave, he became aggressive.

“As soon as I sat down he called me ugly and I was the dumbest (expletive) he ever met,” she said.

After asking him to leave several times, she says he never complied. And that's when it happened.

“He took my martini glass and punched me in the face with it. I could just feel the blood gushing out of my eye,” she said.

Her friends called police immediately. Paramedics took the woman to UMC Brackenridge where doctors had to do everything to save her eye, which they did. The assailant stayed in the bar. Police arrived shortly after and arrested him.

The suspect was booked into jail but released three hours later and no charges were filed.

Container Bar declined to speak to FOX 7. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission says they are also investigating to make sure the bar followed proper protocol in reporting the incident.

This Austin college student is just glad she has her life still and thankful that her parents are there to support her.

“Driving her to doctor appointments, with school and talking to her instructors,” her mother said.

“I'm 21 years old. I have a life ahead of me and I don't want to lose my eye. I was just so scared. It's just not fair,” she said.