14-year-old fights off attacker in south Seattle

SEATTLE — A 14-year-old girl fought off a man who attacked her while she was walking home from the train in south Seattle early Thursday morning.

Seattle police said that the victim got off of the southbound light rail at Martin Luther King Jr Way and South Henderson Street and started walking up Carkeek Drive South towards her home just after 1 a.m.

"As she climbed the hill she noticed a man she had seen on the platform following her," Detective Renee Witt wrote in an SPD Blotter post. "The adult male suspect soon caught up to the victim, grabbed her by the jacket, and tried to pull her to the ground. The victim didn't lose her balance so the suspect pushed her onto the embankment and tried to pull her leggings off. The victim punched the suspect several times while screaming. The suspect gave up the fight and fled the scene, running back down the hill toward MLK."

The victim then ran to a nearby house and called 911.

Witt said that police officers "flooded the area." K-9 units and Guardian One assisted with the search for the suspect. K-9 checked several commercial buildings along Martin Luther King Jr Way with negative results.

"Officers combed the area for evidence where the struggle occurred," Witt wrote. "Officers also met with Sound Transit officials and reviewed video footage of the suspect and victim exiting the train."

The victim was not injured. Police drove her home after the attack and told her mother what had occurred.

Police said that the assailant is a light-skinned East Indian man in his 30s. He was described as being 5 foot 6-7 inches tall and of medium build, with short black hair and a clean-shaven face. He was last seen wearing a black Chicago White Sox hat, a black leather jacket, white shirt, dark pants and dark shoes.

Anyone with information about the assailant or the attack is asked to call 911 immediately. Police welcome anonymous tips.

KIRO