A woman walking home from the bus stop after work was followed to her Newark apartment and attacked, and the whole thing was caught on camera. Now police have released the footage, hoping the public can help them track down the suspect.
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It was around 1:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, when she noticed a man watching and following her. She had taken the bus after leaving work, the kind of routine commute thousands of working folks make every night across the city. She was doing her normal routine when somebody decided to make her the target.
By the time she reached her building in the 200 block of Leslie Street, the man approached her from behind, according to Newark police. When she turned around, he repeatedly punched her in the face and body while telling her to be quiet.
However, she tried her best to fight back and screamed, causing her attacker to run away. In the clip you can hear her seemingly call out for her mother while trying to catch her breath.
Police released the footage hoping someone out there knows something, and folks online have been sharing it, sick to their stomachs watching a woman get jumped at her own front door.
Police describe the suspect as a Black man with locs who was wearing a black tank top and blue shorts. As of the latest reports, no arrest had been announced, and investigators are leaning on the community to help identify him.
This lands in a city already on edge. Just days earlier, on Sept. 14, a woman was punched and pepper-sprayed aboard a No. 25 NJ Transit bus, and that suspect was also still being sought. Two attacks on women moving through Newark’s transit routes in the same week is the kind of pattern that has people texting their girls “let me know when you’re home.”
If you know something, say something. Anyone with information can reach the Newark Police Division’s 24-hour Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-877-NWK-TIPS (1-877-695-8477). If you recognize the man in that video, that call could keep the next woman from being his target.
For everybody else, check on your people. Text the group chat when you get in. Stay aware, share your location with somebody you trust, and remember that nobody should have to fight for their safety on the walk home from work.