Sep 9, 2009 7:19 am US/Eastern
Rapist Strikes Fear Into Upper Manhattan Residents
Suspect Believed To Be Behind 4 Attacks Since Aug. 1
Police Offer Large Reward For Info Leading To Serial Rapist's Arrest
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Police are searching for this man believed to be behind at least three sexual assaults on Manhattan's west side in August.
CBS
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Police released this video still of a repeat-rape suspect in Manhattan.
CBS
A serial rapist has struck again.
Young, old … it seems no one is safe from the creep preying on women in upper Manhattan.
Police officers were out in force in Hamilton Heights on Tuesday night, pressing suspect posters into scared hand after scared hand.
They urged residents to be very careful after a serial rapist struck in upper Manhattan on Monday night, the fourth time he's hit the area since Aug. 1. He apparently forced his way into a 28-year-old woman's apartment at St. Nicholas Avenue and 147th Street, raping her at knifepoint before robbing her.
"Detectives come down and told me it was rape," resident Vivian Brooks said.
Brooks was just a floor away and is now feeling one floor too close.
"It's rough and sad and I'm praying that they catch him soon," Brooks said.
The suspect has already been caught on camera – a quick glimpse captured on surveillance camera – in the hallway and out of the elevator after raping a 23-year-old on Aug. 10 inside a building at West 144th Street and Convent Avenue.
Through DNA the NYPD has connected the same suspect to a series of rapes in Hamilton Heights and Washington Heights since the beginning of August.
"It's just a bad situation, and I hope they do catch him soon 'cause they've got good enough pictures," resident Lynee Jordan said.
Police are still sorting through cameras from nearby stores, hoping even better pictures were recorded.
Most of the cameras in one nearby store do face the inside of the building in question. But, if you look up at the monitor you can see that one of the cameras does face towards the door. And, from that camera you do have a pretty good idea what's happening on the sidewalk. However, police still have no idea whether that camera did, in fact, catch the suspect.
Everyone seems to be worried, like 91-year-old Ruth Young. One of the rape victims was 69; another was 59.
"I think it's terrible. I hope they catch him. I really do," Young said.
On Tuesday night all she could do was sit close to the sketch and keep an eye on the street.
Residents have been urged to dial 9-1-1 if they see anything strange. And hope, until the suspect is apprehended, that police keep handing out help.
The suspect is described as a black male in his thirties, about 5-foot-9 to 6-feet tall, wearing a black hoodie, blue jeans, and white sneakers with red stripes on the sole.
Anyone with information regarding the suspect or these cases is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS. All calls are strictly confidential.
CBS 2 HD's Ross Palombo contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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