A Swedish teenager was attacked at a nightclub after turning away a man who groped her, leaving her face badly bloodied as shown in horrifying snapshots that soon went viral.
Sophie Johansson, 19, was partying at Babel in Malmö, Sweden on Saturday night when an unknown man on the dance floor pulled on her bag. She told Swedish outlet Aftonbladet that when she turned around, the man grabbed her butt and between her legs. She then says she hit him to get him to stop, but he punched her in the face.
Hoping to avoid a further escalation, Johansson and her friend decided to leave — but as she was on her way out, she says the man struck her over the head with a bottle.
“I thought it was [liquid] from the bottle [on my face], but then my friend said it was running blood,” she told the paper. “I ended up in shock.”
Graphic photos of Johansson show her face and chest covered in blood from where the bottle struck the left side of her face. She was soon brought to a hospital, where she received several stitches.
Police have yet to identify the man, whom Johansson described to the paper as being around 25 years old, 5 feet inches, with a muscular build. She also said he had dark hair and wore a dark long-sleeve shirt. Law enforcement chose not to open an investigation since the man is unknown but is asking for tips from anyone who saw what happened.
“I am happy and grateful that it did not end worse. But I’m a little upset about not finding the man,” Johannson told the paper.
The club also posted about the violent encounter on its Facebook page, asking anyone who was there Saturday night and might have taken photos to contact the police.
“One of our guests was beaten by an unknown man. We now need witnesses to the event in order to move forward on this matter,” the post read. “We have a [zero tolerance] against violence, threats and all forms of abuse. We and our staff work closely with the police to suppress and prosecute all crimes.”
The club said it is cooperating with law enforcement and has turned over all the information it has that could lead to an identification of the assailant.