Law enforcement officials in Vancouver and Puyallup spoke Wednesday about a pair of attacks involving a corrosive acid thrown into two women’s faces under similar circumstances, according to a lieutenant with the Puyallup Police Department.
The commonalities are many: an acid-filled cup, a brief exchange and then the cups contents emptied across a woman’s face.
The July 30 incident in Puyallup and the Monday episode near Esther Short Park happened one month apart.
“Besides the nature of the assaults, we don’t see any similarities,” McDonald said.
A 23-year-old woman in Puyallup was approached in the parking lot of her apartment complex shortly before 5 a.m. by a man who asked for a glass of water. He told her he’d been locked out of his own apartment and needed the water for his vehicle. When she returned and handed him the glass, the suspect threw the acidic substance in her face.
The victim in that case is home recovering, McDonald said.
“We don’t have any suspects here,” McDonald said.
In Vancouver, Bethany Storro was standing outside the passenger side of her car, planning to get some coffee at a nearby Starbucks at about 7:15 p.m. when a woman approached and said, “Hey, pretty girl. How are you? Would you like a drink of this?”
Storro declined the offer and the woman threw the liquid into her face.
She was rushed to the Oregon Burn Center at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland where’s currently in fair condition. Storro is scheduled to meet with media to discuss the attack at 10:30 a.m.
She underwent a dermabrasion procedure Wednesday to minimize the long-term effects of burns Storro’s doctor described as “second-degree and deeper.”
Her assailant was described as a black woman between 25 and 35, who wore a green shirt and khaki shorts. She had medium-length black hair that was pulled back, said Vancouver Detective Cpl. Wally Stefan, who is hoping for more information from the public.
The Vancouver Police Department is expected to release a composite sketch of the suspect sometime today.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call detective Stefan at 360-487-7425.
