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Parkgoers push for safety after Queens park attack
Parkgoers remain worried as police continue to search for the suspect who sexually assaulted a teenager at Kissena Park in Queens last Thursday. Community members rallied for more safety precautions including installing security cameras in city green spaces. FOX 5 NY’s Linda Schmidt reports.
QUEENS - The NYPD released photos of the suspect who is accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in broad daylight at a park in Queens last Thursday.
The suspect is described as a male Hispanic, around 5’ 5" in his 20's with curly hair, last seen wearing red sneakers and carrying a green backpack. The photo from the NYPD shows the suspect on a bicycle.
RELATED: 13-year-old girl sexually assaulted at knifepoint in NYC park
Sophia, a mother of a two-year-old daughter, said she has always enjoyed walking in Kissena Park in Flushing, Queens, but now has a heavy heart and is on edge.
"My heart bleeds because I’m the father of two young ladies, a 14-year-old girl and a 9-year-old girl," Steve Chan, a republican candidate for New York State Senate said.
Several Republican candidates for state offices held a rally on Monday in Kissena Park calling for stricter laws and more security cameras in parks and around the city.
"We need to install more security cameras and use technology to help catch preps," Yiatin Chu, a republican candidate for New York State Senate said.
The attack happened around 3:30 p.m. in Kissena Park, near Colden Street and Kalmia Avenue in the Flushing section.
The NYPD is hoping a $10,000 reward will jog someone’s memory and motivate them to call police and identify who and where the suspect is located.
A manhunt has been underway since the sexual assault last Thursday. A massive police presence remains at Kissena Park along with posters including a sketch of a tattoo the suspect has on his chest of what appears to be a boar.
According to police, two friends – a 13-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl – were playing in the park when a man approached.
Authorities say the man showed them a knife and forced them into a wooded area. He tied them up, took their cell phones, and sexually assaulted the girl before fleeing, police said.
The NYPD told FOX 5 NY that several cameras have now been permanently installed inside and outside Kissena Park.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).