Search On For Suspect In Hell's Kitchen Attempted Rape
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police are searching for a suspect in connection with an attempted rape in Hell's Kitchen.
It happened around 4:20 a.m. last Friday in the hallway of an apartment building near West 51st Street and Ninth Avenue.
Surveillance video shows the suspect grabbing a 27-year-old woman from behind and pulling her close. Police said he then tried to pull her pants down.
The woman was able to fight the man off. Detectives say she bit him and started yelling, which caused him to run off, CBS2's Magdalena Doris reported.
Police said the victim wasn't injured and refused medical attention on the scene.
Francesca Tinea, who lives nearby, said she feels 51st Street is too deserted and dark at night and she walks a few blocks out of her way to avoid it.
"I usually go around 50th Street because there's more people down there, buses are always up and down, so it's not that scary because there's always a lot of lights from the buildings," she said.
Neighbors hope the suspect is caught quickly.
"Get him off the streets like yesterday," said resident Steve Christie.
"You hear about things like this happening, you don't know if someone is walking behind you, it's dark," said resident Tiffany Santucci.
Police describe the suspect as a black man in his 40s who was seen wearing a hooded sweater with white lettering on the front, dark-colored pants and black sneakers.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
