A bride-to-be celebrating a bachelorette weekend in Dallas was brutally attacked by a stranger and left unconscious.
Canada Rinaldi, 27, was leaving a club on Floyd Street early Sunday morning when she was punched in the face by a man she did not know, according to her future aunt-in-law Kelly Peralta. The violent assault left Rinaldi unconscious, with missing teeth and a broken nose. She was taken to a local hospital, where she received eight stitches in her forehead.
Rinaldi was visiting Dallas from Oklahoma to celebrate her bachelorette party one month before her wedding.
“I was doing a lot of things to prepare for my wedding. I was like — beauty things — to try to be the best version of myself on that day, and I feel like it was just taken away from me,” said Rinaldi, per NBC.
“It’s just shocking, and especially when I look at myself, it’s hard to believe,” said Rinaldi.
The attack occurred just before 2 a.m. on Sunday. Peralta says Rinaldi was blindsided when the group was crossing the street.
“We started walking across the street to get into the Uber, and that’s when he came from behind, and he punched Canada, and she went straight down, and I turned to push him away, and that’s when he got me,” said Peralta.
The attack left Peralta with a black eye and swelling.
While the attacker was recorded on dash camera video, he managed to flee the scene. So far, no suspects have been apprehended.
“For Canada, we need him to be arrested,” said Peralta.
Rinaldi says she hopes the assailant is caught to prevent him from attacking anyone else.
“I think it’s not fair that it happened to me, but if anything, I hope he gets caught so it doesn’t happen to anybody else,” said Rinaldi.
Rinaldi’s friend, Kirsten McDowell, who joined the group for the weekend event in Dallas, says it is “heartbreaking seeing her so upset, so injured.”
“It was supposed to be one of the best trips of her life, celebrating her, for it to just go awry so fast,” she said.
A GoFundMe has been set up for Rinaldi.
In September, a Dallas woman was the subject of a violent, unprovoked attack, The Dallas Express reported. As the female pedestrian waited to cross the street at the intersection of Field and Elm Streets, a man approached her from behind and struck her over the head with a blunt object, knocking her unconscious. The suspect in that case was arrested days later.
Last month, The Dallas Express reported that the City has seen an uptick in crimes, like vehicle break-ins and burglaries, though violent crime has remained constant. A report issued by the Metroplex Civic & Business Association says downtown Dallas is experiencing an increase in criminal activity, while Fort Worth is seeing a substantial improvement in public safety. MCBA Chief Operating Officer Julie Strum attributes Fort Worth’s relative success to its focus on public safety over political correctness.