Police are still searching for a man who they say sexually assaulted and robbed a Brooklyn woman in her Bushwick apartment.
Investigators said the 43-year-old victim was sleeping when the man broke in and put a pillow over her head.
According to police, the attacker then
tied the victim’s wrists and sexually assaulted her, before he stole her cellphone and watch.
It happened just before 4 a.m. on Monday near Pilling Street near Evergreen Avenue.
Kenneth Gayden, of Bushwick, lives nearby and says he knows the victim.
“I’m upset,” Gayden said. “We say hi almost all the time I see her. You know, we come out and talk sometimes.”
Video from the scene showed investigators removing evidence bags and taking photos on the roof.
Police sources told News 12 that the attacker entered through a kitchen window - which the victim left open.
Gayden said the apartment buildings on the block are similar.
“There’s a skylight,” Gayden said. “You go through that. As soon as you come down, there’s like a hallway near the kitchen.”
Surveillance video obtained by News 12 shows the attacker running off.
The victim was taken to a local hospital and is stable.
Sources said the two do not know each other.
“The fact that she was comfortable leaving her kitchen window open really does say a lot about the situation,” said Ashley Dozier, of Bushwick. “It is a neighborhood where, you know, you can leave your windows open typically.”
“[The area is] very communal, and they throw block parties,” said Alix Pulido, of Bushwick. “For something like this to happen, it just feels gut-wrenching.”
With the attacker still on the loose, neighbors are on edge.
“I will be locking my doors,” said Dozier.
“Probably going to invest in some more security systems,” said Pulido.
“We just have to be diligent and just keep an eye on everything that’s going on here,” said Gayden. “I just feel so sorry for [the victim].”
Police said the attacker was last seen wearing a white baseball cap, black sweatshirt, dark colored pants, black sneakers and a dark colored bookbag.
Anyone with information is asked to call police.