EDMONTON – A disturbing early morning assault this past weekend has Edmonton police encouraging women in and around the University of Alberta area to be careful when walking in the neighbourhood at night.
The warning comes days after a woman was assaulted near 111 Street and 82 Avenue. Police say it happened as the 26-year-old was walking home alone from work at around 3:30 Sunday morning.
As she approached her apartment building, she was struck in the face from behind by a masked man who then allegedly choked her after she fell to the ground.
The attacker then briefly fled the scene, which allowed the woman to safely get inside the locked lobby of her apartment building. According to police, he reappeared moments later and tried to enter the building, violently banging on the lobby window.
The woman ran to her suite; and hours later, she contacted police.
Detective Hao Ly, who is working on the case, stresses how important it is to call police immediately after something like this happens.
“The faster you call us, the sooner the investigation gets going,” he explains. “We can prepare a team…come to the area, get witnesses…get the dog out, the helicopter will be there to look for this guy, because he is still out there.”
The woman described the suspect as a 6′ 0″ male, and said he was wearing a bright blue ski mask.
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This isn’t the first assault in the neighbourhood.
Last year, several women were attacked in and around the Garneau and Whyte Avenue areas. In some of those cases, women were grabbed from behind. Ly says that while this case may seem similar in that sense, it’s still too early to tell if it’s connected to the others. He points out that many of the previous assaults were sexual in nature, while this latest one doesn’t appear to have been. It was also the first incident involving a ski mask.
There have been no arrests in any of the cases.
Police advise women not to walk alone late at night, if possible; and to be aware of their surroundings.
Area resident Taylor Swain feels the neighbourhood is safe, but will still be taking some extra precautions.
“Just don’t walk alone, I guess. Make sure people know where you’re at, and maybe don’t stay out that late.”
Anyone with information regarding this assault or others in area is asked to contact the Edmonton Police Service at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.
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