Atlanta Police are looking for a man they say strangled a woman with a battery charger in an attempt to rape her at the Columbia at Mechanicsville Crossing apartments in southwest Atlanta. The man may have followed another woman home.
The victim, 28, stepped out of her apartment to get some fresh air when she saw a man with dreadlocks standing on the corridor, according to a police report. When she turned to go back into her apartment, the man grabbed her from behind and forced his way inside her apartment.
The man forced the victim to the floor, placed his knees in her back and took a battery charger and wrapped it around her neck, according to the report. Just as the man pulled out a condom, the victim fought her alleged attacker, broke from under his knees and ran, the report said.
The victim immediately called security and was later taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where she was treated for injuries.
Tina Thorne, the victim’s mother, told Channel 2 Action News the man accused of assaulting her daughter is still out there and it may not be the first time he’s done this.
“I just got the news from a neighbor that her daughter was being followed by the man who fit the description of the man who attacked my daughter,” Thorne said.
Thorne told Channel 2 she thinks a broken gate at the apartment aided the man and thinks management should say something about the attack.
“We are saddened by this incident and are taking the necessary precautions to ensure our residents feel secure moving forward,” said Ed Samson, vice president of property management with Columbia Residential, the company that operates the apartment complex.
Samson said letters will be sent to residents soon.
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