PSA - Please stay safe

MamiJam

I'm not sure if this has been posted recently but I just got an email about the East Coast Rapist.  This is just too close to home...Please stay safe and trust your instincts!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2010/03/15/ST2010031501850.html?sid=ST2010031501850 

 

Hopeful1!

It gets worse, the following was forwarded by a friend of mine on March 23.  I always felt extra safe in a group or with a dog, I guess that was not a good assumption.

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The message below came from one of my neighbors (Ginny Dxxxxxx).  Her good friend in Reston sent this to her.  PLEASE read and BE careful and pass along to anyone in the NOVA area or anyone that may be visiting our area in the near future.
Thanks,
Cady
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On Saturday, my mom was almost a victim of this rapist, and I want to share her account of what happened in the hopes that the rest of us can be alert and stay safe until this person is caught.

My mom was walking our dog on the Reston path that runs between/parallel to Lawyers Road and Glade Drive, going towards the Acton basketball courts. My dog was acting strangely, and as my mom looked up, she saw a man wearing a dark blue hooded sweatshirt standing on the bridge. The man looked at my mom from a distance, but then turned and walked the other direction so she didn't think much of it.

She crossed over the bridge and began walking up the path past the Acton basketball courts towards home, when my dog started acting strangely again. My mom happened to turn around at that moment to see what my dog was looking at, and the man was suddenly right behind her in her face. She said he had come out of nowhere and she didn't even hear him. Her first instinct was to run, but she was on a stretch of path where there weren't any houses directly next to her, and she didn't want to make any sudden movements, so she thought her next best bet would be to look the man in the face and have a conversation with him. I think they tell you in self-defense classes that sometimes you can deter your attacker by looking them in the eye. She asked him something like "Are you having a nice morning?" He didn't look at her and didn't respond, but began walking next to her. My mom began to speed up her pace and the man started to drop back behind her but as he did so, he pulled his hands out of his pockets and she saw that he was wearing latex gloves. At this point my mom's "fight or flight" instincts really kicked in and she ran away as fast as she could and called the police.

The police officer called in the detective who is handling this case (the one who contributed to the Washington Post article), and explained to her the magnitude of the situation. My mom's description of the suspect (African-American, 5'11", 200 lbs, stocky build, broad face, no facial hair, wearing a blue hoodie), as well as her account of how it happened (man spots his victim, disappears in another direction, then suddenly reappears behind his victim), all match the East Coast Rapist's description and M.O., as well as the other sightings and near-attacks that have been experienced in our area within the past week.

Please forward this on to anyone you know in the area (particularly women) who walk their dog, go on runs, etc. Please encourage them not to go on the paths by themselves, and to use the main roads if they are by themselves. Apparently this rapist has been spotted all over the Northern Virginia area in recent weeks so he is not just isolated to Reston.

Cady XXX