A 20-year-old woman was getting off the F train at the 169th Street station in Queens when police said a man punched her and tried to rape her. NBC New York’s Marc Santia reports.
The NYPD is looking for a man who allegedly followed a young woman off a train and tried to rape her in the subway station this past weekend, authorities say.
According to police, the suspect, seen in the surveillance image above, followed the 20-year-old victim off a Queens-bound F train at 169th Street shortly after midnight on Saturday. Once in the mezzanine area, he punched her in the face multiple times and knocked her to the ground, where cops say he tried to take off her clothing in a sex assault.
The victim struggled and yelled as she fought back, alerting an MTA transit guard who intervened, officials say. Witnesses said the attacker ran off in the direction of 168th Place. The victim was taken to a hospital for treatment of her injuries.
"Thank goodness there was a transit guard who was alert, concerned, and in a position to safely intervene on behalf of a New Yorker in an awful situation," said NYC Transit President Richard Davey.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
The attack comes amid a rash of high-profile cases of subway violence, including three homicides. Earlier Thursday, an on-duty subway conductor was slashed in the neck at a station in Brooklyn. He's expected to be OK.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
The MTA has condemned the violence. The NYPD's transit chief says an influx of 1,000 officers in response to a January spike in crime is showing progress driving down the numbers.
