What to Know
- Authorities are looking for a man who ambushed two women in separate sex attacks in Manhattan an hour apart over the weekend
- Both attacks happened before dawn; one was near Central Park West and the other on Avenue A by East 4th
- The two victims were taken to hospitals for treatment of injuries and medical evaluations; anyone with information on the suspect is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS
A woman was ambushed by a sex predator on an electric bicycle who followed her in Manhattan, then got off the bike and chased her down, tackling her on the sidewalk, police say. And the same person is wanted in connection with a sex attack near Central Park on the Upper West Side an hour earlier.
The NYPD released chilling footage of the second attack, which happened around 5 a.m. Saturday near Avenue A and East Fourth Street. It shows the 28-year-old victim walking in the cross street, the man on the bike weaving in and around the lines on the pavement around her. He almost appears to bump into her at times, then swerves away.
She crosses the street and the footage cuts to another location. The woman is seen walking underneath a construction facade, along the sidewalk. Suddenly, someone is seen running from behind and tackling her.
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Police say he told the woman he had a knife and forced her to perform oral sex. He never showed the weapon, they said. He fled the scene on his bicycle. The woman was taken to a hospital for abrasions and a medical evaluation.
The earlier attack linked to the same suspect happened around 4 a.m. near Central Park West and West 82nd Street, the NYPD said. In that case, a 23-year-old woman was walking when a man approached her from behind and pulled her to the ground, similar to how the Avenue A attack appeared to play out, based on surveillance footage.
Local
A struggle ensued. Cops say the suspect held the victim down and sexually assaulted her. He ran off on foot, then was seen a short time later traveling southbound on Central Park West on an electric bicycle. That victim also had abrasions to her body and was taken to a hospital to be evaluated.
Anyone with information on the suspect seen in the surveillance video (above) is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
