Police Search For Man Suspected Of Raping Woman In Flatiron Bar Bathroom
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Police are searching for a suspect seen on surveillance video following a violent rape in a Manhattan bar.
Police say the man ambushed a woman as she entered a bathroom stall at the Turnmill Bar on East 27th Street between Lexington Avenue and Park Avenue South around 7:45 p.m. Saturday in the Flatiron District.
The suspect was described as a white male between about 45 and 55 years old, standing 5 feet 8 to 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 150 to 175 pounds, with brown hair.
He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a black shirt and distinctive black-framed glasses, police said.
Police said the woman was in the ladies' room and when she opened the door to the toilet stall, the suspect was waiting for her. He allegedly pushed her back into the stall, grabbed her by the throat and raped her, police said.
The suspect ran off and the victim was rushed to North Shore-LIJ Lenox Hill Healthplex for treatment and evaluation, police said.
A source told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell it doesn't appear the attacker was an employee or customer; it looks like he came in from the street and went straight to the downstairs bathroom.
"Nice place, quiet, but I was very, very surprised that happened," said Fabio Betancourt, who lives next door to the bar.
"That's terrible and terrifying," said Alyssa Nejmeh of the East Village.
"Especially if you're with friends or family, you don't expect something like that to happen," said Lindsay DiMichael of Astoria, Queens.
Anyone with information was asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS, log onto the Crime Stoppers website or text "tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and enter TIP577.