Minneapolis Police Seeking 2 Men After Woman Assaulted In Uptown
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minneapolis Police officers are working what they say is a rare and violent attack on a young woman walking in Uptown.
She was choked so hard she passed out, and officers need some help. They've released photos of two different men they want to talk with. Officers say the men were using the victim's credit cards after the assault.
It happened near 26th Street and Aldrich around 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
The 26-year-old woman was walking home Saturday after a night out. Officers say she was in no way drunk and that she was walking in an area with little reported crime. But two men interrupted her walk, and interrupted her life.
When the sun goes down in the Uptown area of Minneapolis, the lights turn up. It's an entertainment district buzzing with 20-something professionals. One of them was walking home early Sunday when a man attacked her, squeezing his hands around her neck.
"Despite the woman fighting for her life, he choked her into unconsciousness," John Elder with the Minneapolis Police Department said.
It's a crime that's shaken even the professionals.
"That's a very angry assault where you actually choke somebody to that point," Elder said.
Officers say the 26-year-old passed out and woke up screaming, fighting for her life.
As the attack happened, 22-year-old Marcus Alpante was in his bedroom and he walked outside to find the young woman screaming in his mother's garden.
"She's on the ground, her pants are over there," Alpante said.
Alpante found the woman lying in his mother's plants and a man standing nearby.
"She's just sitting there knees drawn up and he's trying to talk to her and he's having none of it," Alpante said.
The man ran off. Hours later, officers says these two men were using her stolen credit card at K-Mart.
Alpante says the woman was disoriented and screaming.
"Her phone is cracked, she's missing a shoe and then I realize she has no pants on," he said.
Alpante explained as he held his chest, "I was like - it chilled me, so I called the police."
And officers came in a matter of seconds, ending a late night of anything but fun.
Officers are not sure if the victim was sexually assaulted. They are trying to piece everything together. What is clear: This was traumatic and in this area, quite rare.
Authorities say if those men look familiar to you or anything sounds familiar - please call Minneapolis police at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) is Crimestoppers Anonymous Tip Line or submit a tip online.