An Indian who first entered the country on a student visa is behind bars after violently attacking a mother and biting her 3-year-old daughter on the face in a popular San Antonio park.
San Antonio police arrested Atharva Vyas, a 24-year-old Indian national, on April 18 after he allegedly randomly assaulted them while they were fishing in a South Side park, according to local reports.
He faces charges for injury to a child with intent to cause bodily injury, assault causing bodily injury, and illegal entry, according to authorities.
The victim, Gabriella Perez, 27, told police the man appeared out of the woods and began punching her and grabbing her by the hair. She said Vyas was a total stranger.
Perez was startled by the attack, causing her to drop her 3-year-old daughter, Amelia Perez. Vyas then allegedly jumped on the toddler and began biting her on the face.
The child sustained facial injuries, including bite marks and the loss of two teeth.
Although some local news outlets did not mention Vyas’ immigration status, it turns out he was previously arrested for an alleged felony assault months after entering the U.S. in 2023.
24 year old foreign savage military age male & illegal invader from India, Atharva Vyas, randomly brutally attacks a mother and her 3 year old daughter in San Antonio, Texas.
During the attack he attempted to eat the little girl's face. That's not a mis print. He attempted… pic.twitter.com/GhLPvkzhdW
— Mrgunsngear (@Mrgunsngear) April 24, 2026
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged an arrest detainer on Vyas with Bexar County Adult Detention Center in San Antonio. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the Biden administration allowed him to remain in the country despite being notified of the attack in 2023.
“This barbaric assault against this woman and her three-year-old in a park was completely preventable,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said. “The Biden administration NEVER should have released this animal following his arrest for assault.”
Vyas first entered the country in August 2023 on a student visa. Three months later, he was arrested at the University of Texas campus for felony assault.
The University of Texas Police contacted ICE. Biden officials determined Vyas’ crime was not “egregious” enough to revoke his visa, DHS said.
“We are working with our partners in Texas to ensure this criminal illegal alien never roams free in American communities again,” Bis said.
The violent assault left the toddler seriously injured and her mother shaken after what police said was a sudden and unprovoked attack.
Officers with the San Antonio Police Department responded to the scene just before 3 p.m. Saturday, April 18 at Espada Park, according to KSAT.com, with a commenter on the website adding, “Who does this? Espada Park is very popular and mostly quiet.”
Perez said Vyas appeared out of the woods and began punching her and grabbing her by the hair, causing her to drop her daughter.
“He tried poking at (her) eyes with his thumb,” Perez told KSAT, describing Vyas’ attack on her daughter. “He hit me. He was a big man. I just remember laying there and looking for (her daughter) and I just see him on top trying to do the thumb.”
News 4 San Antonio reported Perez started pulling his hair to get him off her daughter.
Perez said Vyas began biting her daughter’s face and described the attack as something “out of a zombie movie,” Fox News Digital reported.
SAPD did not mention drug use in the preliminary report, but Perez said someone who was with Vyas did mention partaking in drugs.
“One of the persons that he came with bought some wax off of a California website, and it said it was legal here in Texas,” Perez told KSAT.
Several bystanders intervened and began kicking and punching the man, ultimately restraining him until police arrived.
“I was kind of freaking out and then finally they came … I wanna say they came right when he was back on top of me. The guy was still attacking me, but they were helping me,” Perez said of the good Samaritans who intervened.
The toddler has exhibited signs of trauma since the violent attack and “has needed constant care, comfort, and reassurance,” according to her mother.
Perez created a GoFundMe page, which has raised $18,000 so far, explaining that she has had to take time off work to stay with her daughter.
“The emotional distress from this event has been overwhelming for both of us, and we are now focused on helping her heal physically and emotionally,” the page states. “She is unable to be left with anyone else, so I have had to take time away from work to be by her side.”
