Suspect wanted for assaulting woman, girl in Fishtown just days apart: police
Suspect sought after girl, woman assaulted just days apart
Police are searching for a suspect after they say a woman and a 13-year-old girl were assaulted in two separate incidents on two different days in Fishtown.
PHILADELPHIA - A worrying development in Philadelphia's Fishtown neighborhood after a suspect is still being sought for two different assaults reported by a woman and young girl.
What we know:
On March 25, a 36-year-old woman told police that a man pinched her butt as she put her son in the back of her car on the 1500 block of Palmer Street.
Three days later, a 13-year-old girl reported an assault just a block away on East Montgomery Avenue.
She told police that a man grabbed her from behind in a bear hug as she walked to school, but he fled when she started to scream.
Chilling video provided to FOX 29 appears to show the moments the girl ran from a man that tried to grab her.
Philadelphia Police say it happened just after 8 a.m.
What's next:
Police are asking for the public's help to identify the suspect, who they believe may be the same in both assaults.
He is described as a man with a heavy build and beard, wearing a black hoodie.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police.
What they're saying:
The girl is reportedly a student at AMY at James Martin on East Berks Street.
The middle school sent out a letter to families stating that a student reported they were "touched inappropriately" by a stranger on her way to school last week.
"The little girl was walking this way. She was crying. I just kind of hugged her and she called her mom and I told her just go into the school," Zeannalie Bobe explained.
She says she believes the same man that approached that little girl followed her to school on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, also along East Montgomery Avenue.
She says she reported it to the school and, after Friday’s incident, made an official statement.
"Because he hadn’t talked to me or tried to touch me, there was nothing we could really do," Bobe said. "And then it ended up happening anyways to a little girl. She’s younger than me and I felt guilty."
The Source: Information from this article was provided by the Philadelphia Police Department.