Sexual Assault Shocks Dallas Neighborhood

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 DALLAS (CBS11) - A sex assault in a Dallas apartment complex is rocking neighbors. Police are now saying it has the markings of a predator. It happened October 24, but neighbors and apartment management just learned about it Thursday.

Police have released a sketch of the man they say committed a violent attack Saturday night inside the Summerwood Cove Apartments. He forced himself into an apartment with a knife and sexually assaulted her, according to police.

"Very scary, because I walk the dogs late at night," says neighbor Tina Lawson. "I'm out here a lot late at night. So it's very concerning."

Lawson does have a few four-legged protectors, but she and other neighbors would like to see the apartment complex do more. They note that the gate to the apartment complex hasn't been closed in years.

"That's not a gated community," says Lawson.

"I think maybe I want to move," says neighbor Issac Boakye. "I feel like if it's my daughter or something like that, it's really bad. It's really bad. I don't like that.

Adding to their concern - police say the attacker took painstaking steps to minimize the evidence they could find.

"That's even more alarming, because that's a predator," says Lawson.

Police say they aren't aware of any similar offenses in the area at this time. But neighbors say they aren't taking any chances.

"I look around me before I get to my door to make sure nobody's following me home," says a neighbor who didn't want to be identified. "I don't open my door to the other side to somebody that I don't know. Just talk to them through my door."

"I hope he gets found, and I hope he gets found quickly before he harms anyone else," Lawson says.

The apartment manager tells CBS 11 that they have a new management company. They are working to fix that gate and they are also going to start assigning residents parking stickers to help identify them.

Crime stoppers is offering a reward of up to $5000 for information leading to an arrest.

(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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