BROOKLYN — A young woman was forced to the ground by a man who tried to rape her early Friday, and the NYPD released images of a suspect in hopes of getting help from the public, police said.
The victim, 27, was walking on Graham Avenue and approaching Scholes Street at 4:21 a.m. Friday when a man in his early 30s grabbed her from behind and threw her to the ground, police said.
The man then attempted to rape her, but took off when a witness stopped and intervened, police said. The woman was rushed to Woodhull Hospital for treatment, and police were investigating the incident, according to the NYPD.
One local resident, Anna Murphy, said that she walked home from the nearby Montrose Avenue L train stop at night alone all the time, but that there were usually enough other people on their way home to make her feel safe walking the streets.
"I do walk alone quite a lot around here, but so do a lot of other people coming back from Bedford [Avenue] or Manhattan or wherever," she said. "It does weird me out to hear that though. You don't really think of this neighborhood having stuff like that happen."
Another young woman who recently moved to the area said that though she would continue to walk at night alone, she would take extra care now.
"I had heard this was a good, safe place to be, you never really hear about this kind of thing here," Martina Kalweski said. "But I guess it shows it can happen all over, you just have to be aware that even the best places have bad days."
Police released images of the suspect late Friday, and described the man as 5-foot-8 to 6-feet tall, and about 170 pounds with short hair, and as clean-shaven.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477).
