Police are investigating after they say a man attempted to rape a woman in Prospect Park Wednesday night.
According to officials, a 41-year-old woman was near Wellhouse Drive around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday when a man tried to talk to her. She rebuffed him.
Investigators say he then grabbed her from behind, strangled her, forced her to the ground and tried to remove her clothing before running away.
For some who know the park in Brooklyn well, that’s what makes what happened here so unsettling.
“I feel really safe here. I actually do. I’ve lived here for 23 years on the edge of the park and have walked in it all times of day,” Brooklyn resident Tracey Ober said.
“I try to avoid it once it gets late because stuff like that used to happen in the park a lot, so now I try to avoid it when it’s late at night,” Brooklyn resident Kadijah Alleyne said.
The attack on Wednesday is not the first attempted rape reported here this year.
In May, police say another woman was attacked from behind inside Prospect Park. She fought the man off and escaped.
“It’s not well lit. It’s pretty dark, especially along some certain paths [in] the park,” Brooklyn resident Angela Horng said.
The darkness is something several people told NY1 changes how they use the park.
“As soon as it starts to sunset, I try to go to the front, and when I do, walk through this area at night, when it gets dark, it’s kind of iffy,” Brooklyn resident Nicole Ramsay said.
In daylight, these paths are familiar and busy. After dark, some of the people who know them best say they move differently.
Police have not announced an arrest or released a description of the suspect in Wednesday’s attempted rape. A suspect in the May attack has not been arrested either, according to officials.