Police: Kensington prostitutes may be targeted by the same man

PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - "I did. I did see him. And by the time you call someone, or do whatever… he's gone."

Donna Price says she's terrified somebody's brutalizing prostitutes along Kensington Avenue.

Philly Police say it may be the same man who attacked nearly half a dozen women since April, but they're not certain.

Either way, Donna wants to see some action.

"There's got to be something," says Price, nervously surveying the street. "There's got to be more police work to get this crazy maniac off the street."

The most recent attack? October 1 st , when a Kensington call-girl was choked unconscious after a "date." Another was sexually assaulted at knifepoint in the same area two weeks prior. The attacker might be the same in both incidents, say police, who add that it also might be the same person who attacked and murdered a prostitute in the neighborhood in July.

"It's really terrifying. You almost feel like you're being hunted, like an animal or something," says "Kayci," a self-professed three-year veteran of the area. "And you take a risk out here every day getting into any car, really… but now, it's a really scary feeling because you never know. It's almost like it's not if, but when, really."

Kayci is forthcoming about why she works - it's the same reason that three other women interviewed for the story work: they're addicted to heroin.

The attacker is described by police as a black male in his 20's or 30's, wearing a baseball cap and often riding a mountain bike. Women on the street who say they've seen him occasionally say he's ditched the bike. Reach Hank @hankfox29 or Fox 29 @fox29philly.