Woman Robbed and Raped at Gunpoint

Attacked Early Monday in Richmond Hill

By Conor Greene

An 18-year-old woman was raped and robbed at gunpoint while walking home from a local convenience store in Richmond Hill early Monday morning, heightening fears in an area already on high alert due to a string of sexual assaults.

The woman was walking back to her house at about 1:45 a.m. Monday after using the ATM at a nearby corner store when the attacker pulled out a silver gun and dragged her from 103rd Avenue to a driveway of a private home near 123rd Street, according to police.

The man raped the woman and stole $20 and her ATM card before fleeing the area. A resident told Channel 7 that he tried to chase the man down, but the attacker was able to get away.

The Daily News quoted the victim’s boyfriend as saying that his girlfriend ran home after the attack and pointed out the assailant to him and his friends. They chased the man, who jumped into the passenger side of a waiting car and was driven away, according to the newspaper.

Police said this attack doesn’t fit the description of motives used by either of the two men already wanted for a string of sexual assaults in the area. In those attacks, the suspects either threatened the women verbally or flashed a knife.

However, Channel 7 reported that Monday's attack matches a recent unsolved gunpoint robbery in the area. Nevertheless, the incident has left many area residents shaken, especially since there could be as many as three attackers preying on women walking along at night.

“If I find out who did it before the police find out, it’s not going to be a happy case,” the victim’s boyfriend told the DailyNews.

The victim was treated at Queens Hospital Center. Police are continuing their investigation of the recent attacks.