Woman says man broke into her Upper East Side apartment while she was sleeping
NEW YORK -- A woman says a man broke into her Upper East Side apartment while she was sleeping and then pepper sprayed her when she confronted him.
On Wednesday, CBS2's Natalie Duddridge spoke to the 25-year-old victim, who was shaken up and scared to go back inside. She said the outside door to the building is locked, and so is her apartment door, so she doesn't know how he got in or why he targeted her.
"I heard a door sound around 3:40, and I realize someone's trying to break in," the woman told Duddridge. CBS2 is not identifying her, because she's terrified an intruder might return.
Police said someone forced their way into her apartment on East 76th Street while she was sleeping.
"I was standing there trying to figure out what's going on, and I saw his face," the woman said. "He pepper sprayed me and said, 'Stop yelling.' I was just screaming."
The pepper spray hit her in the eyes, but she managed to call 911 and kept yelling her address into the phone. She said that's when the burglar scanned her apartment quickly and went out the fire escape.
"He just jumped off my window, from my window," said the woman.
The commotion woke up her neighbor across the hall.
"At first, I thought maybe she was having some argument with someone on the phone or something. But then I heard her screaming, 'Get out.' So I realized, okay maybe it's something serious," her neighbor said.
Police arrived and escorted her, still coughing from the pepper spray, to an ambulance. She said it was dark so she didn't get a good look at the suspect, but she thinks he's in his late 20s.
"Short, maybe like 5-foot-3, 5-2. Black hair, short," she said. "He doesn't look like a homeless person, because I think he moves very fast."
She doesn't know if he took anything, because she's still to scared to go back to her unit.
"I haven't slept since last night or since yesterday. I'm just going to stay here. I don't think it's a good time to come back to my apartment right now," she said.
For now, she's staying at a friend's place, at least until the suspect is caught.
Anyone with information about the break-in is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
