Cops Hunt For Queens Sexual Predator As Witness Describes Attack
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Police are stepping up their efforts to nab the rapist they say attacked three women in Queens.
There's chilling surveillance video of one of the attacks, which took place at 2 a.m. Wednesday morning. It shows a man sneaking up on a woman as she walks down 153rd Street and 109th Avenue. Police say the woman felt a sharp object in her back as she was pulled behind the building. The victim and her attacker struggled.
"I helped her, because he dragged her behind my house," Lashanda Vickers told CBS 2's John Slattery. "I heard her screaming and I grabbed one of my big kitchen knives and I came out to help her."
Despite being confronted by Vickers, the attacker stayed cool.
"He walked away real calm," Vickers said.
"She pulled away from him and ran to us," Vickers said. "She was like, 'I don't know this man, he's trying to rape me. He got a knife to me,' and he walked out of the yard. Once he heard 911 was on the phone, he took off running."
Police believe the man is responsible for raping two other women -- a 2o-year-old on Merrick Boulevard in mid-October and a 27-year-old in mid-November on 142nd Street.
Watch the surveillance video:
The rapist is said to be 25 to 30 years old, 5'5", 220 pounds, last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and a white and blue striped scarf.
Police say in one of the attacks, at 142nd street, the rapist told the 27-year-old victim he had a gun.
"Kind of creeps me out," said Georgia Haubrick, a neighbor. "'Cause I got to walk back, I've got to worry about someone coming up behind me. It's gotten closer and closer to home."
"It's disturbing, very much. I have a young daughter, my wife and I have grandkids here," neighbor Jerry Williams said.
The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
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