Comedian and show producer Dylan Avila was recovering Wednesday at Valley Medical Center, after being attacked by a man while on stage hosting an open-mic session at the Local 907 Monday night.
“I’m doing OK, recovering,” Avila said Wednesday morning from his hospital room.The Renton Reporter is not naming the 48-year-old suspect because he had yet to be charged.His first court appearance and bail hearing is 2:30 p.m. today (Wednesday). He was booked into the King County Jail in downtown Seattle for investigation of first-degree assault.
On Monday, the 36-year-old Avila had just taken the stage to announce the next comic, when a man approached the stage wearing gloves and holding an aluminum baseball bat and began beating Avila in the head. According to a witness, about 20 comedians and audience members then rushed the stage to subdue the attacker and attend to Avila. When police arrived, they had to wrestle with the suspect a bit as he resisted arrest, according to one witness.
According to court documents filed at the hearing, the suspect told officers he was also injured. Police observed that his face was swollen and the suspect said he was struck countless times while he was being held down by audience members.
Avila had banned the suspect from the open-mic session a week prior to the incident. “Tasteless” doesn’t even begin to describe the man’s act, said Avila. In his previous appearance at the Local 907, the suspect used sex toys in his act and made crude references.
“This guy just thought he was Jesus Christ and he couldn’t be further from that,” Avila said.
The suspect was able to hit Avila in the head twice with the baseball bat and Avila believes he would have kept swinging if it wasn’t for his friends who came to his aid.
“He was there to attack me, to kill me,” Avila said. “He went for the head shots and he would have kept swinging.”
Avila had brain surgery on Tuesday and now has two titanium plates in his skull for the two fractures he sustained and four stitches in his ear. The incident has the local comedy scene shaken. Many comics were there that night and witnessed the attack, including JAMCO. show producer Jamal Harrington.
“Nobody saw this coming,” said Harrington.
Never in his wildest dreams could he imagine a comic being assaulted on stage like this, he said.
“Honestly I feel devastated, very distraught,” said Harrington. “This is a blow to the Seattle Comedy scene in general.”
Avila hosts the open-mic session at the Local 907 every Monday and the last Saturday of every month. He is known locally and had just done a weekend gig at The Parlor in downtown Seattle. Friends started a GoFundMe website to raise funds for Dylan’s medical expenses. As of Wednesday, $13,723 were raised in 19 hours by 302 people.
“We want to help Dylan and his family as much as we can,” said Harrington.
Avila was expected to leave the hospital Thursday.
“I’ll be back on stage soon, but I’ve got to let my hair grow back some,” he said.
