Woman critical after being raped, beaten in Queens attack
KEW GARDENS HILLS, Queens (WABC) -- Police in Queens are looking for the suspect who raped and beat a 52-year-old woman who had just dropped a child off at school Monday morning, authorities tell Eyewitness News.
The crime happened in broad daylight in the vicinity of 72nd Road and Kissena Boulevard in Kew Gardens Hills, police say.
Officers found the woman at the bottom of an exterior stairwell unconscious with trauma to the face and body.
She was taken to an area hospital in critical but stable condition. The victim has not been able to talk to police to describe what happened.
The vicious attack has the community on edge as police continue to hunt for the suspect.
"I walk through every day to go to school, so it could've been me," one area resident said. "I left the house at 8:15, so 15 minutes later it happened to someone else. It's very scary."
There is no description of the suspect at this time, and the investigation is ongoing.
As detectives spent the day searching for clues and witnesses, women who live in the area say they'll be on guard until the person responsible is behind bars.
"I put a message on Facebook to all my friends, tagged everyone I knew in the neighborhood," one woman said. "And I said, listen, this happened in broad daylight. We've gotta be careful. It's scary."
Anyone with information in regards to 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).
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