Search for Central Park rape suspect continues
The search is on for the suspect police say raped a woman at knifepoint in Central Park.
This is the second attack on a woman in the park in just one week, raising new concerns about safety.
Saturday night, the Crime Scene Unit showed up to Central Park near Fifth Avenue between 66th and 67th streets after a 39-year-old woman said she was raped by a man who brandished a knife and dragged her to a secluded area.
The NYPD says it happened around 8:30 p.m., and the woman was taken to a hospital for treatment.
No arrests have been made, and police have not yet released a sketch or photo of the man they're looking for. Police say the suspect is a man in his 30s who was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants and a black backpack.
"What happened to this survivor is horrific. This is something that no one should have to endure," Mayor Zohran Mamdani said. "We know that every New Yorker should be able to walk anywhere in our city at any time of day and they should be safe, and anything less than that is not something that I will ever justify or accept."
Last Sunday, police say a 32-year-old woman was riding her bike home through Central Park on West 93rd Street and West Drive when she was punched, attacked and robbed by three men.
The latest crime stats from the NYPD show overall crime in the park is up around 20% year-to-date, compared to 2025. Grand larceny and robberies are the most common crimes, and this is the fifth rape in the park this year, versus three at the same time last year.
The NYPD says it's already stepped up patrols due to the rise in robberies, and it will continue having uniformed patrols focusing on the footpaths as well as wooded areas.
Anyone with any information on either incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via the Crime Stoppers website or via DM on X, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
