Police from the 109th Precinct in Flushing are searching for an alleged rapist who attacked a woman at knifepoint inside a Murray Hill commercial building on the night of Thursday, May 30.
The suspect was walking with another man along Northern Boulevard near 162nd Street at 10 p.m. when he split off and entered one of the many stores along the commercial corridor. Once inside, the suspect pulled out a knife and threatened a 37-year-old woman with the blade and then sexually assaulted her, police said.
The assailant then proceeded to take an unknown amount of cash and property before leaving the store and running off in an unknown direction, according to the NYPD. EMS responded to the crime scene and rushed the victim to New York Presbyterian Queens Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition.
The NYPD released surveillance video of the suspect walking along Northern Boulevard, describing him as having a light complexion. He wore a green hooded sweatshirt, tan pants, white sneakers and a black face covering. He also had a black fanny pack slung over his left shoulder.
A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to his arrest.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
Through June 2, the 109th Precinct has reported 10 rapes so far in 2024, 5 fewer than the 15 reported at the same point last year, a decrease of 33.3%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Robberies are up slightly in the precinct with 152 reported so far this year, 4 more than the 148 reported at the same point in 2023, an increase of 2.7%, according to CompStat.
