With rapist on the loose, fear grips NW Detroit neighborhood
(CBS DETROIT) – Community activists were back Thursday in Northwest Detroit handing out flyers containing the sketch of a suspect police say raped an 80-year-old woman.
The attack that occurred Sunday night in the area of Memorial Street near the Southfield Freeway has shaken neighbors like Lawanda Thomas.
"For this to happen. It's just terrible," Thomas said. "I worry about my mom; she's 74. [We're] making sure every door is locked; no way a person can break in."
Thomas has lived in this neighborhood for over 40 years, but it's her first time dealing with the anxiety of knowing a suspected rapist could still be in the area.
"We are all scared," she said. "It really is just too close to home. It really does."
Detroit Police have beefed up their presence as Chief James White is directing every available resource to this manhunt. On Wednesday, he joined community activists flooding the neighborhood with the sketch. On Thursday, those same activists were back out.
"See, the key is consistency, being as constant as you can, being committed," said activist Minister Malik Shabazz.
There was a moment when the group thought they'd spotted the suspect, they called the police, but it turned out to be a false alarm.
However, they're undeterred in their mission to bring justice to the elderly victim.
"It's the world that we live in. The unthinkable has become doable. The unacceptable is becoming far too often accepted," Shabazz said. "We have to have codes of conduct. You respect elderly people."
He adds there are talks underway of having some community groups patrol the neighborhood around the clock until the suspect is caught.
Thomas is hopeful it'll be soon.
"Just be present until they catch him because he has to live in this neighborhood. I don't see I'm coming from somewhere else," Thomas said.
If you have any information regarding this attack, contact Detroit Police's Sex Crimes Unit at 313-596-1950 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-SPEAKUP.
