Police Praise Woman Who Fought Off Attacker

A man who broke into a Palo Alto apartment early Thursday morning and attempted to rape the woman sleeping inside is still on the loose this morning as police work grueling hours trying to solve the case.

“This was a horrific crime,” Detective Sergeant Brian Philip of the Palo Alto Police Department acknowledged. “We don’t want anyone to feel unsafe in their homes.”

Philip was in his 14th hour of work Thursday when he spoke with Patch. “We’re doing all of our usual things—talking with neighbors, talking with maintenance people. Was someone who didn’t belong watching the area in the days before the attack?”

While detectives investigate the crime, there were two extra patrol vehicles on the streets last night. Officers were looking for things out of the ordinary, and looking to reassure a jittery public.

There are three unsolved cases of women being groped in broad daylight in August and September, plus a fourth on the Stanford campus. Following the last crime, police expressed concern that the actions of the groping suspect were escalating. But those attacks ended as abruptly as they began. The last was in mid-September.

Philip says it’s too soon to know if Thursday morning’s attack is connected to the groping cases. He hopes residents and businesses in the area will check security cameras for any trace of the suspect.

Because of the nature of the crime, Philip declined to identify the woman or to give information about her that could reveal her identity. She is only identified as a graduate student in her 20s.

Philip says the woman did everything right. Her home was secure with windows and doors closed and locked. When the suspect broke-in through the front door and entered her bedroom, the woman screamed loudly and fought-off the attack. She suffered a bruised wrist. As soon as the man fled, she dialed 9-1-1. The first officer arrived two minutes later. Despite an extensive search of the area, including the use of a tracking dog from Mountain View, the suspect escaped.

If you have any information that may help investigators call the 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413.

Also on Los Altos Patch:

Woman Attacked in Her Own Home