A man was caught on video raping a 25-year-old woman at a New York City subway platform on Saturday, in front of horrified onlookers.
The attack took place at the Q train subway station at Lexington Avenue and East 63 Street at 11am in the morning on Saturday.
The woman was waiting for the train when the rapist approached her and shoved her to the ground.
BYPASS THE CENSORS
Sign up to get unfiltered news delivered straight to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe any time. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use
He then climbed on top of the woman and began raping her as she screamed for her life, but stopped when a crowd of bystanders formed, according to New York Police.
Videos were taken by witnesses and show the man thrusting himself on top of the woman pinned to the ground.
“Hey get off her,” a witness yelled at the attacker in video of the incident.
In a clip released by the NYPD, the rapist finally got off the woman and shrugged as if he’d done nothing wrong, picked up his sunglasses off the ground, and walked away.
Dailymail.co.uk reports: Police were called to the scene and the assailant ran away.
The victim suffered minor injuries but refused medical attention.
Police are still looking for the suspect, who was last seen wearing sunglasses, a black long sleeve shirt, dark cargo pants and brown shoes.
The NYPD is asking for the public’s assistance identifying the individual to question him in connection to the attempted rape.
New York City has been reeling from a crime wave this year that has forced the police department to increase weekend patrols citywide.
Officials have linked the rise in crime to the pandemic, a surge in unemployment, civil unrest, and protests.
There was a 162 per cent increase in the number of shooting victims and a 166 per cent increase in the number of shooting incidents during the four-week period that ended on August 23 compared to the same period last year, police data shows.
During the four-week period ending on August 23, the city recorded 48 homicides – a 50 per cent increase from the 32 homicides that were recorded during the same period last year.
Between January 1 and August 23, the city recorded 280 homicides – a 35 per cent increase from 208 homicides that were recorded during the same period of 2019.
In July, murders were up 58.8 percent when compared to the same month last year. Shootings were up a staggering 177 per cent.
In Manhattan’s Upper West Side residents have complained and threatened to sue the Mayor after homeless people were moved into three luxury hotels in the area to protect them from COVID-19.
Residents of the upscale neighborhood complain that the move-in of the vagrants has brought with it increased crime, random violence, drugs, public urination and open prostitution.
At the moment more than 13,000 homeless people are being housed in 139 hotels across the Big Apple, including three luxury hotels – The Belleclaire, The Lucerne and The Belnord – on the Upper West Side.
The uptick in crime comes as protests have unfolded across the country denouncing police brutality and seeking to defund police departments.
New York City announced it will slash the police budget by $1billion in July. The department budget was almost $6billion for the 2020 fiscal year.
