Police Sources: Attempted Rape Suspect Was Buzzed Through Building Door In Williamsburg
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An attempted rape in Williamsburg, Brooklyn had residents thinking twice Wednesday night about who they randomly buzz in through the locked front door.
Police sources said a would-be rapist attacked a 37-year-old woman in Williamsburg around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, CBS2's Valerie Castro reported. The victim had just returned home to her building after buying groceries, police sources said.
"Here? You know, in a neighborhood like this?" said neighborhood resident Eddie Shaw. "You wouldn't think people would be like that aggressive or that crazy."
The woman was getting her mail when she noticed a man with a green hooded sweat shirt in the locked entryway. He was randomly hitting buzzers to get inside.
As the woman went upstairs, someone buzzed the man in. The man followed the woman up to the fifth floor, grabbed her by the waist and managed to slide down her jeans, police said.
He was eventually scared off by the woman's screams.
A man who lives on the fifth floor did not want to be identified, but said the woman attacked was OK Wednesday. Other residents were nervous.
"Of course, scared, you know, because you never know what could happen," said building resident Anna Medrano.
Building management tucked fliers into the residents' doors after the assault, with safety reminders. They emphasized that people should not buzz in any guests they do not know or anyone they are not expecting.
But some said it happens all too often.
"It's a form of protection, but the buzzers sometimes, they static up," Shaw said. "You can't really hear who you're buzzing in, what's going on, so sometimes, you just buzz them in."
The building has a surveillance camera just inside the entryway, but the building superintendent said it was not currently working.
