Police are searching for a man accused of groping a woman in the Morrisania section of The Bronx.
The 30-year-old victim, who asked to remain anonymous, told News 12 the attack happened around 2 p.m. Monday while she was walking to the gym near Crotona Park South and Franklin Avenue.
“It felt like I was running for my life,” she said.
The woman says the suspect tried to trick her by shouting that she dropped her phone.
“He’s approaching very closely and he’s really aggressive, like he’s yelling really loud. He’s like, ‘You don’t hear me? You dropped your phone.’ So, my heart starts racing,” she said.
She says when she tried to cross the street, a bus blocked her path.
“He grabs my behind, he just grabs me. I take my phone and I’m trying to dial 911, but I’m shaking. And then he’s like, ‘What? Are you scared? You’re going to call the police?’” she recalled.
“I couldn’t stop shaking, and I was like, when he came at me the second time, aggressively, I felt like he was going to do worse,” the woman said.
She says she ran until she found a good Samaritan. She then managed to snap photos of the suspect.
The assault took place right next door to a school and a block away from a church.
“The fact that he was in a school area, it made me worried for younger children and women and young girls,” the victim added.
Her boyfriend has been handing out flyers in the neighborhood to warn others, like Rosandy Peralta, who works nearby.
“It makes you kind of think, like, let me not have my headphones out here,” Peralta said.
Police confirm a report is on file for forcible touching.
Anyone who recognizes the man is urged to call the police.