Medford woman assaulted while out for a walk; police searching for attacker
MEDFORD - Police are searching for the person who attacked a woman while she was taking a walk in Medford Sunday night.
The assault happened near Main and Royall streets at about 10:30 p.m. Police said the woman in her 20s realized she was being followed, and then "the man ran up to her, grabbed her from behind and struck her several times."
The woman fought back and screamed loudly, causing the attacker to run away down Royall Street toward College Avenue. She was hospitalized for treatment of minor injuries.
Police describe the attacker as a man between 18 and 30 years old with a "medium to dark complexion." He was wearing a black hoodie with white writing and black and white sneakers.
"Medford Police have been and will continue to provide enhanced attention to the area, particularly during the evening and early morning hours," police said. "We ask you to be careful when traveling alone at night and stay vigilant of your surroundings."
Joan Colangeli said this type of thing never took place in the neighborhood before.
"It's getting close to home and it's getting kind of scary. I raised six children in this house, had grandchildren here. And never," she said.
Anya Malkina said the incident is out of character for the area, and has her concerned.
"I'm not walking here at night. I don't want to believe that anything like that is possible in this kind of super safe place," Malkina said.
Medford Police Capt. Paul Covino said video evidence will play a critical role in this case.
"We solve more crime nowadays because of video. There are crimes that would never even be looked at because never had any other information for us to look at," he said.
Anyone who has information or possible surveillance video that could contribute to the investigation is asked to contact police.
