Surveillance Video Shows Pregnant Woman Successfully Fight Off Brazen Would-Be Rapist

A 30-year-old pregnant woman is safe after successfully fending off a would-be rapist in upper Manhattan, N.Y., Sunday morning, CBS New York reports.

The male suspect is still at large, according law enforcement officials.

“The suspect grabbed the woman from behind and tried to take off her clothes during a struggle around 7 a.m. Sunday,” the CBS report notes.

NYPD

“The victim was able to fight off her attacker as a neighbor emerged from a nearby building. The suspect fled the scene,” the report adds.

Residents of the area are rattled by the incident.

“It’s a pretty shocking thing to have something like that happen in the neighborhood,” said one resident. “Believe me, this is not the safest neighborhood in the city, but I’ve never seen something so brazen.”

“We need to take kickboxing, karate, whatever to defend ourselves,” another woman who works nearby said.

“I’ve been here in the neighborhood since I was 13 years old and nothing ever happened like that,” said Roxanne Rosales.

“I’ve been here since 1970 and I have yet to see a crime of this type of magnitude happen, especially in broad daylight like that,” Thomas Graham added.

Police have release surveillance video of the attack in the hopes of catching the suspect:

Residents are amazed that someone would try something so terrible in broad daylight and in front of so many cameras.

“Usually a lot of women like to hang out in front of the building and chill out. It’s usually not that kind of place around here,” Manuel Montero said.

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