Search Continues For Suspect In Queens Attempted Rape
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The hunt is on for a man police say tried to rape a woman in the Ridgewood section of Queens last week.
Police say the suspect followed his victim and punched her before ripping her clothes away.
Now, investigators are releasing new surveillance video in hopes of finding her attacker before he strikes again.
Authorities say the victim never met the man who allegedly came up to her near the intersection of 66th Street and Forest Avenue and tried to make conversation before pushing her into the vestibule of a residential building and trying to rape her.
Surveillance video shows the suspect approaching the 40-year-old victim around 2 a.m. on August 8th.
Police say moments later he pushed her into a hallway, where he punched her in the face and tried ripping off her sweatshirt and shirts.
The suspect was unsuccessful thanks to a building resident who yelled at the attacker, scaring him off into the night.
Cops describe the suspect as a roughly 5'6" tall Middle Eastern man with black hair, brown eyes, and a dark bear who was last seen wearing a white short sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and black sneakers.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74682). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
