A woman had to defend herself in a Florida gym after a man attempted to attack her as the pair were alone in the building - and it was all captured in a terrifying video. Nashali Alma, 24 was working out in her apartment's gym when she opened the door for a man that has since been identified as 25-year-old Xavier Thomas-Jones, per <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/woman-seen-fighting-man-florida-gym-dramatic-video-rcna71127" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBC News</a>. In the shocking footage, Thomas-Jones is seen approaching the 24-year-old in a suspicious manner before he attempts to grab her near a set of weights. Alma has opened up about her experience in an attempt to get women who have gone through similar attacks to speak out against those who assaulted them. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/HCSOSheriff/status/1625970845343514638]] She began by saying that the situation didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary after she let him in, as she thought he was "a dude coming in to work out," but things soon took a sinister turn. "As soon as he was approaching me, I said, ‘Bro, what the eff are you doing?" Alma said in a clip that has since been released by the sheriff's office. "Get away from me. Stop trying to touch me." Thomas-Jones continues his assault on Alma as he attempts to wrestle her to the floor, but she breaks free and runs to the other side of the gym with her attacker still in pursuit. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/ChadChronister/status/1625977651205734413]] Alma is then taken to the floor but it would seem that Thomas-Jones got more than he bargained for as his victim bravely fights back, punching him on the head as well as pinning him to the floor. After she gets the better of her attacker, Alma made her way to the exit where she called the authorities who arrested Thomas-Jones the following day, per <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-woman-gym-attack-tampa-nashali-alma-xavier-thomas-jones/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBS News</a>. A criminal affidavit obtained by <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/florida-woman-fights-off-attacker-in-apartment-complex-gym/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBS Miami</a> showed that Thomas-Jones had attempted a similar assault the following day. Authorities revealed that the 25-year-old watched a woman for several minutes from her balcony, before knocking on her door. After taking multiple steps into her apartment, seemingly wanting to attack her in a similar fashion to Alma, her fiance chased him out of the building. Encouraging other women to speak up, Alma said: "My advice would be to never give up. My parents always told me in life to never give up on anything, and that's one thing I always kept in mind while I was fighting him." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/KUSINews/status/1626753070905585664]] It was also revealed by CBS that Alma was present when Thomas-Jones was arrested the following day. "The day they caught him, I saw the whole thing go down," she said via the outlet. "It was a relief knowing that someone like him is put into jail and probably won't be out anytime soon. It feels amazing. No other person should go through this." Thomas-Jones faces charges of sexual battery, false imprisonment, and kidnapping and was held without bond. <h6>Featured image credit: Sorge / Alamy</h6>

Woman fights off attacker at Florida gym in dramatic video

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