Woman Fights Off Attempted Rapist In Brooklyn, Police Seek Suspect
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Police are asking for help finding a suspect in connection to an attempted rape in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn on Sunday.
Investigators say the NYPD was called at 4 a.m. to Saint James Place and Lefferts Place where a 30-year-old woman had been attacked, reports CBS2's Tara Jakeway.
Surveillance video exclusively obtained by CBS2 shows the woman pass by a Fulton Street shop and continue into the crosswalk. A moment later, a man in black and white walks by.
Another camera picks the woman up as she walks down St. James Place, and that same man is seen following her seconds behind.
They disappear out of view at Lefferts Place.
That's where police say the man punched her in the head from behind, repeatedly striking her with an object, possibly a red tea kettle.
The attacker allegedly then attempted to sexually assault her as she was still on the ground. The woman fought back and the man fled with her backpack north on Saint James Place towards Fulton Street.
The suspect is described as a 30- to 40-year-old man last seen wearing a light gray hooded sweatshirt, baseball cap, dark-colored jacket with light-colored fur on the collar, wrists and bottom of the jacket, blue jeans and sneakers.
"It's terrifying. You walk home from the subway, you don't want to think about having to protect your body," said local resident Shira Moss. "I don't leave the house after night time because I have a baby but I'm going to tell my roommate."
"That's insanely scary," said neighbor Eliot Tomlinson. "I don't want to have to have, like, a curfew on when I have to be home just to be safe."
One more door down, a residential building features brand new spotlights out front. The landlord says they were installed after multiple muggings at the property.
Several home and shop owners CBS2 spoke to say they've seen an uptick in violence and robberies lately. They plan on hosting community meetings in the days to come at different businesses in the area.
In Sunday's attack, the victim was taken to an area hospital and treated for a cut to her head plus bruising and swelling on the head and neck. She was treated and released.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74682), logging onto the Crime stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or by texting tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enterings TIP577.