Man follows woman off subway, punches, attempts to rape her in Queens: NYPD
NEW YORK - Police are on the hunt for a man who is accused of punching and attempting to rape a woman as she left a subway station in Queens last weekend.
The incident happened just after midnight on February 24, according to authorities.
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Police say the victim, a 20-year-old woman, was getting off a Queens-bound F train that had entered the 169th Street station in Jamaica.
The suspect followed her off the train and, once inside the mezzanine of the station, punched the victim in the face multiple times while covering her face, knocking her to the ground and attempting to remove her clothes.
The woman yelled, which alerted a security guard who intervened.
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The man then ran out of the station on foot heading toward 168 Place.
The victim was taken to an area hospital for treatment.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
Police say all calls are strictly confidential.
Crime on the rise in NYC Subway
Crime in New York City's subway system has been on the rise in 2024.
According to NYPD statistics, crime was 45% higher this January compared to 2023, with grand larcenies making up the majority of crimes.
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Arrests are also up as police crackdown on fare evasion. Police have also recovered 17 guns in the last month, triple the amount found last year, and made 250 arrests for other weapons, a 44% increase.
So far this year, seven MTA employees have been assaulted, with four people with 50 prior arrests among themselves having been arrested.
In response, NYC Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban have deployed 1,000+ officers to the subway system every day since February.