The New York Police Department has released footage of a face mask-wearing suspect dressed in black as they continue the hunt for the attacker who raped a Central Park jogger on Thursday.
The attack took place only 45 minutes before another woman was sexually- assaulted in the Manhattan park amid a surge in violence assaults in crime-ridden New York City.
Security footage shows the suspect wearing black pants, shirt, mask and a baseball cap using an emergency exit to enter a train station, thereby avoiding the fare.
Police on Thursday said the jogger, 27, was knocked to the ground, choked until she was unconscious and raped while running through the Manhattan park at 7:20am.
The victim alerted police after regaining consciousness and was taken to hospital for treatment. Police said there would be increased patrols in Central Park.
The assaults come hours after a 13 year-old girl was raped in the Bronx’s Crotona Park as she was heading home from school. Police are also looking for the suspect in the Bronx case, who was captured on video before the assault.
The attacks come as New York continues to experience a surge in crime. So far this year, the city has seen 1,216 rapes, about 2.5 per cent more than had been recorded at the same point of 2020.
The New York Police Department have released footage of a man dressed in all-black (pictured) who allegedly raped a jogger in Central Park on Thursday morning
The jogger was running down Swan Lake at 7:20 am when a man dressed in all black attacked
Police said the jogger was running on a foot-path near Swan Lake at 7:20am when a man dressed in all black, possibly in his 20s, attacked and sexually assaulted her.
The victim was able to get away from the man quickly and got help from others to call 911. She was taken to a nearby hospital, CBS reported.
Around 25 minutes later a registered sex offender who was recently released from prison allegedly tried to rape a jogger, 54, on Randall’s Island.
Howard Shaw, 38, was charged over the assault – which took place two days after he was released from state prison where he was serving a sentence for a 2005 robbery and a rape.
New York Police officers responded to a sexual assault that took place in Central Park on November 11, a day after a 13-year-old girl was raped in the Bronx
And about 45 minutes after the first assault, another woman was walking on a foot path near 103rd street and FDR Drive when she was attacked.
A suspect was arrested over the assault, although police have yet to identify him, or say whether the incidents are connected.
The Bronx incident occurred on Wednesday, at 2:35pm, when an unknown man approached the 13-year-old girl and threw her to the ground.
After the assault, he stole her cell phone and ran off. The teen was taken to a nearby hospital.
Police have released security footage of the alleged perpetrator who was wearing a grey hoody, jeans, black trainers, and carrying a jacket over his left shoulder. Video shows the suspect sitting on the steps outside a fast-food shop.
Police are still on the lookout for the man who raped a teen in Crotona Park. They released this image and CCTV footage of their suspect
Police were stationed around the foot path in Central Park where the jogger was assaulted
All three sexual assaults occurred within 18 hours in New York City. Cops are pictured in Central Park in the wake of the attack
Felony assaults also went up from 17,910 last year, to 19,392 this year, and robbery has gone up from 11,104 to 11,340.
While murders dropped from 397 to 407 and shootings fell from 1,632 to 1,610, overall crime is still up 1.73 per cent from last year.
Investigations into the four attacks are ongoing, police said.
Overall crime in New York City continues to steadily grow
Shocking moment man, 62, is brutally attacked near Times Square after he’s clobbered from behind before being slashed and stabbed by a group of teens
This is the shocking moment a 62-year-old man was brutally attacked by a group of teenagers near Times Square early on Wednesday morning – two days after international tourists returned to New York City for the first time in 20 months.
Shocking video footage of the assault was released by police in an attempt to identify the attackers, and shows the man being struck on the head from behind before being slashed and stabbed by six other teens as he lay helplessly on the ground.
The violent incident took place in front of 315 West 44 Street and near Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan at 5.37am on November 10.
The motive of the attack is not yet known but the area has seen a number of attacks in recent months. It comes as the Big Apple attempts to lure office workers and tourists back to the sights of Midtown Manhattan.
A survey by the Partnership of New York City released Wednesday said safety concerns are deterring many workers from returning to their offices, with those figures set to spark concerns among tourism bosses desperately trying to entice foreign visitors back.
This is the shocking moment a 62-year-old man was hit over the head from behind and then brutally attacked by a group of teenagers near Times Square early on Wednesday morning
The video shows the victim walking alone down a sidewalk at at 5.37am on November 10, when an unidentified male struck him over the head with an object, making him fall to the ground
Wednesday’s video shows the victim walking alone down a sidewalk when an unidentified male strikes him over the head with an object, making him fall to the ground.
A group of six additional unidentified males then run towards the man as he struggles to get up and begin ‘stabbing and slashing’ him.
He was slashed in the face and stabbed in the neck during the attack, according to police.
Emergency services responded to the incident and transported the man to a Manhattan hospital in what police described as stable condition, reported Pix 11 News.
A group of six additional unidentified males then run towards the man as he struggles to get up and begin ‘stabbing and slashing’ him
The motive of the attack is not yet known and following the attack, the suspects fled to the Times Square subway station
Following the attack, the suspects fled to the Times Square subway station, using the entrance at West 44th Street and Eighth Avenue, for the A, C and E lines, officials said, but it was unclear if they headed uptown or downtown.
Images of the suspects wearing hoodies and smiling were released by police on Twitter and no arrests had been made, as of Wednesday morning.
Anyone with information on the attack has been asked to contact NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or direct message @NYPDTips on Twitter for a reward up to $3500.