SAN ANTONIO — A man in the country illegally is facing multiple criminal charges after police say he carried out a sudden and violent attack on a mother and her young daughter at a public park, leaving the child hospitalized with serious facial injuries.
Authorities say the suspect, identified as Atharva Vyas, approached Gabriella Perez and her 3-year-old daughter, Amelia, as they exited a restroom at Espada Park on April 18. What followed, according to police and the victim, unfolded in seconds.
A sudden and brutal assault
Perez told investigators Vyas lunged at her without warning. He grabbed her by the hair and struck her in the jaw, knocking her off balance as she tried to shield her daughter.
“He hit me. He was a big man,” Perez said in an interview with KSAT. “I just remember laying there and looking for [Amelia].”
As she fell, Perez pulled her daughter down with her in an attempt to protect her. Police say Vyas then climbed on top of Perez and continued the attack, at one point trying to gouge her eyes.
“He tried poking at my eyes with his thumb,” she said. “I just see him on top trying to do the thumb.”
The violence then turned toward the child.
Perez said Vyas bit Amelia in the face, knocking out the toddler’s two front teeth. She later described the scene as something out of a “zombie movie.”
Bystanders step in
It might have gotten worse — if not for people stepping in.
Witnesses rushed in as Perez screamed for help. Several intervened physically, pulling Vyas off the child and restraining him until police arrived.
“I was screaming, ‘Shoot him! Shoot him,’” Perez told the New York Post.
According to her account, two bystanders drew firearms while another called 911. No shots were fired, but those at the scene subdued Vyas, beating him until he collapsed.
Perez later called the witnesses “selfless,” crediting them with stopping the attack before catastrophic harm could be inflicted.
Child recovering, but shaken
Amelia was taken to the hospital and later released, but her mother said the emotional impact is expected to endure.
“The attacker targeted both of us, and my daughter suffered severe injuries to her face,” Perez wrote in a GoFundMe post.
Since the incident, the 3-year-old has required constant reassurance. She is now afraid to return to daycare and refuses to be left alone with anyone other than her parents.
Charges and immigration status
Vyas was arrested at the scene and taken into custody. He faces several charges, including:
- Injury to a child with intent to cause bodily injury
- Aggravated assault
- Assault causing bodily injury
- Illegal entry from a foreign nation
He is scheduled to appear in court for arraignment on May 15.
Federal authorities have also taken interest in the case. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer, requesting custody once local proceedings are complete.
Prior arrest raises questions
Records show Vyas entered the United States in August 2023 on a student visa. Months later, he was arrested for a felony assault on a Texas university campus.
That case did not lead to immediate immigration consequences. The Department of Homeland Security at the time determined the offense was not serious enough to justify revoking his visa.
His visa was ultimately revoked in April 2025 under the Trump administration.
What comes next
Vyas remains in custody at the Bexar County Detention Center as the criminal case moves forward. If convicted, he could face significant prison time before any potential removal from the United States.
For Perez and her daughter, the focus remains closer to home.
Recovery, both physical and emotional, is ongoing. And for now, something as simple as a trip to the park carries a very different meaning.
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Another one of Biden’s Democrat voter cannibals.
Here we go again. Another illegal. Why when his student was revoked, cancelled whatever he was not sent back to his own country? So now he attacks a woman and child severely injuring the child,
and it said he could be facing significant jail time. Why should we as taxpayers be required to pay for his upkeep in prison? He is an illegal send him to El Salvador I am pretty sure President Bukele
would be able to supply him with whatever he needs.
I know that it would be illegal to shoot this scumbag because he didn’t attack with a ‘weapon’ ( such as a gun, a knife, etc. ), but I can’t think of a better circumstance for where this guy ‘going to meet his maker’ would be more appropriate.
He was let into this country by Biden. I believe that that says it all!
And the libs tell us that we should give these people full American legal status?
Yeah, riiiight!
This is sad, but what is worse some wacko judge will probably turn him loose.