Dallas apartment leasing agent stabbed by tenant multiple times

Keila Torres said problems were documented for weeks. She shared her story with NBC 5 following the attack.

A Dallas apartment leasing agent said she’s thankful to be alive after being stabbed multiple times by a tenant.

Keila Torres told NBC 5 she has not slept well since Tuesday. She’s battered and bruised, but alive.

“I have bruises on my face, bruises on my legs, my arms,” she said. “I have staples. Ten, thirteen and then two in the back. The one in the shoulder is the deepest.”

The attack happened on Tuesday. Torres, a manager at an apartment complex on Fort Worth Avenue in Dallas, was inside the leasing office when a tenant she recognized barged in and hopped over her desk.

“The first thing he did was punch me in my face. He grabbed me and that’s when he started stabbing me in my back,” she said.

Dallas Police arrested 30-year-old Rigoberto Contreras Pirela. NBC 5 obtained an arrest warrant detailing felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon. Police said prior to the assault, Pirela started a fire inside his apartment, believed to be ignited as a distraction.

Torres released photos capturing the scene after the attack and cell phone footage of police responding on the scene.

She told us the trouble with Pirela started weeks ago when he paid part of his rent in advance.

“He contacted us and asked if we can return some of the money,” Torres said.

Torres said she explained that the money was already credited towards his account, but that angered him.

“He bursts into the office, started yelling at my assistant,” she said. “He started punching the walls, punching doors, breaking glass.”

She tells us reports were filed and Perila was told that only electronic communication with leasing staff would be accepted from that point on.

Fast forward to this week, however, and a bloody knife was left on the floor following the assault on Torres. Torres is now contemplating her career and said she’s focused on healing.

“I love my job. I love what I do. Been helping people get their homes for almost twenty years,” she said. “Now is more of the emotional recovery that I have to go through.”

Dallas Police confirmed they responded to a prior call on May 16th after someone complained of a Pirela banging on a door and causing damage. No arrest was made in connection with this incident, but the offense was documented.