Brooklyn Residents On Edge After Woman's Neck Slashed During Attempted Sex Assault
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Residents are on edge after police said a man slashed a woman's neck after he tried to rape her in Brooklyn.
It happened early Sunday morning in the area of Wyckoff Avenue and Starr Street.
The suspect approached the 25-year-old victim from behind, placed a sharp object to her throat and told her to bend over, police said.
The victim yelled for help and after a struggle, managed to break away from her attacker and run but not before he cut her with that sharp object, police said.
Workers at a nearby store say the victim came running in off the street after the attack, bleeding and asking for help. Medhat Tadrous said two co-workers came to her aide.
"The lady came with the cut in her neck or something and they tried to help her with Band-Aids," he said.
The woman suffered a four-inch laceration on her neck and was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
As CBS2's Scott Rapoport reported, the attack -- which was caught on video -- has left area residents worried.
"Scared to death," resident Sarah Kobos told CBS2's Scott Rapoport. "Like I shouldn't have to be scared of my own neighborhood."
"I'm just like worried about my safety now because I walk around here all the time. This is where I get food every morning," resident Ashley Fuentes said.
Police describe the suspect as a Hispanic man between the ages of 20 and 30, 5'6" to 5'9" tall and weighing between 170 and 190 pounds. He last seen wearing a black and red baseball cap, a black long sleeve shirt and dark colored pants.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).