Police looking for man who sexually assaulted, robbed woman in Tacoma

TACOMA, Wash. — Tacoma Police detectives are asking for the public’s help in identifying an armed man who they say robbed and sexually assaulted a woman early Wednesday.

Shortly before 6 a.m., a woman walked out of her home to drive to work when she was attacked on the sidewalk near South Ninth Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

Police said the man hit the woman in the head with a gun he was holding, sexually assaulted her and tried to strangle her.

Her screams for help caught the attention of strangers, who yelled at the man to get off the woman. The suspect then let the woman go and she fled in her car and called police.

The man is believed to have walked away from the area, taking the victim’s cell phone with him.

The suspect is described as a Black man in his 20s who is 6 feet, 1 inch to 6 feet, 2 inches tall with a thick build and dreadlocks that may have orange in them. He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, gray sweatpants and Nike sliders.

Detectives are asking anyone who witnessed the attack, might have surveillance video of the incident or the suspect, or has information about the suspect to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477).

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