Women On Edge As Cops Hunt Suspects Sought In Separate Bronx Attacks
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Women in the Bronx are on edge as police search for two suspects who they say are wanted for separate rapes in the Bronx.
The first happened on Feb. 21 in University Heights, police said.
A 27-year-old woman was riding in an elevator in her apartment building when the suspect got on at the second floor, police said.
When she got off the elevator at the fifth floor, the suspect followed her and attacked her in the stairwell, police said.
Police have released a sketch of the suspect. He is described as a black male in his early 30s, 5-feet-9 inches tall, weighing 180 pounds, cops said.
Investigators are also searching for a suspect wanted in a separate attack last month.
It happened around 1:15 a.m. on March 24 in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx.
A 25-year-old woman was sitting in her apartment when a man claiming to be the building super knocked on her door, police said. She opened the door after he told her in Spanish that there was a gas leak, police said.
Investigators said that's when he struck her in the head with a gun and raped her, police said.
The suspect then fled the scene. The woman was treated at an area hospital and released.
Neighbors say the woman's young daughter was in the apartment at the time of the incident, but wasn't hurt.
"Very little girl. I don't know what kind of person could do something like that, especially with a mother by herself," neighbor Dezmon Nieto told CBS 2's Kathryn Brown.
There are no security cameras in the building. Some residents said there should be.
"Everybody else got cameras in our neighborhood except our building," said Nieto. "I know that's probably not going to stop somebody from committing a crime, but it may make them think twice."
Police have also released a sketch of the suspect in that attack. He is described as a Hispanic male, 6 feet tall and about 190 pounds, authorities said.
While the attacks happened just weeks apart, they are believed to be unrelated. Nevertheless, police are stepping up patrols in both neighborhoods as they search for the suspects and are warning women to be on the lookout.
Anyone with information on either case should call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS, visit Crimestoppers.com or text tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
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