Police are searching for a suspect who reportedly tried to rape a woman in Manhattan on Saturday morning. It happened in broad daylight!
The New York Post reported on Monday that an unidentified suspect approached a woman from behind as she was walking on East 33rd Street near Madison Avenue. It happened at about 7 a.m. local time.
The suspect reportedly grabbed the 27-year-old woman, pushed her against a storefront and tried to assault her. The woman fought back and was able to break away from the attacker.
Based on video surveillance the suspect is believed to be a black man. He was wearing dark pants, a gray shirt, and a mask. He ran from the scene on foot.
Emergency medical services arrived immediately on the scene. They examined the victim and treated her for a minor cut. She was released and is expected to recover.
WABC-TV reported that the police launched a call to public help. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the New York Police Department's Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-577-8477.
A similar attack happened just two weeks ago in Manhattan. For that case, the police are seeking a suspect for an attempted assault that happened around 12:40 a.m. on West 52nd Street.
The suspect shoved a 23-year-old woman to the ground and tried to attack her. When the victim resisted, he reportedly ran away on foot.
“There is a tremendous number of staff from our police department working on it. It's an extremely high priority for us to solve this case. I would say a forcible rape out in the public, in broad daylight, is very, very unusual. It's a very unusual event and we want to solve this case as soon as possible,” was the statement from law enforcement.
Caution is advised until the suspect is caught, particularly in the Manhattan area.