Gainesville and University police departments are investigating an armed assault that took place near Sorority Row on Friday night.
Around 10 p.m. Friday, a UF student was walking to her car that was parked on Southwest Fifth Avenue near Norman Hall and the Campus USA Credit Union when a man wearing a ski mask jumped into her car, said Cpl. Angelina Valuri, public information officer for GPD.
The man held the victim at knifepoint and demanded that she get in the backseat and take off her clothes, Valuri said.
The woman offered him her purse, which he took. She then faked an asthma attack and the man fled the scene on foot, Valuri said.
As he left, the victim screamed, and several bystanders called 911. They told police they saw the suspect running toward Southwest Sixth Avenue, where he got on a small BMX bike.
When they arrived on the scene, UPD and GPD detectives established a perimeter and sent out an alert to UF students. They searched the neighborhood on foot and with a K-9 unit, but were unable to find the man.
Valuri said the suspect is a black male in his early 20s. He is thin and about 5 foot 9 inches tall. On Friday he was wearing a black ski mask, a brown T-shirt and shorts and has a raspy voice.
Valuri said this matches the description of the suspect who raped a UF student on Nov. 29 near Fraternity Row.
UPD and GPD are still investigating both cases.
Both police departments have increased patrols near Sorority Row.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact GPD at 352-393-7604. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 352-372-7867
Police provided this composite sketch of the suspect in an attempted sexual assault.
