A woman was home alone in Auburn Gresham on Friday morning when an armed man broke into her house and sexually assaulted her at gunpoint, Chicago police say. The attack happened around 10:36 a.m. in the 7700 block of South Racine Avenue, and investigators are now asking the public for help tracking down the suspect.
According to FOX 32 Chicago, the offender broke into the victim's home while she was alone inside and sexually assaulted her while armed with a handgun. Police describe the suspect as a Black male between roughly 40 and 55 years old, standing 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-8 tall. At the time of the attack, he was reportedly wearing a blue hoodie, a red baseball cap, a white medical mask, black pants, and red shoes with white laces.
Surveillance Image Released as Detectives Seek Tips
The Chicago Police Department has released a surveillance image of the man believed to be responsible, in hopes that someone recognizes his clothing or build. Anyone with information is asked to contact Area 2 Detectives at 312-747-8271 or submit an anonymous tip at CPDTIP.com using reference number JK480065.
It is not clear whether the suspect has been identified or taken into custody since Friday's incident. No further details about a possible arrest have been released.
Other South Side Cases, Not Confirmed as Linked
The Friday attack comes amid other cases reported on Chicago's South Side, though there is nothing establishing that the incidents are connected. In late October, a 28-year-old tenant reported being sexually assaulted at gunpoint by her 58-year-old landlord at a Chatham apartment in the 8100 block of South Ellis Avenue, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Auburn Gresham itself has seen earlier home-invasion sexual assaults reported by other outlets. The same Sun-Times coverage noted that an 82-year-old woman was sexually assaulted during a home invasion on a Wednesday evening in the neighborhood, after a male attacker entered through a window of a home in the 1600 block of West 82nd Street around 6:55 p.m. and struck her in the face, causing her to fall.
In a separate case detailed by ABC7 Chicago, a man attacked a 70-year-old woman at her home near Peoria and 83rd Streets on April 14. Police in that case released surveillance video showing a man they believed to be the attacker walking to the back of the home before breaking through the basement door. No connection between any of these earlier cases and Friday's Auburn Gresham attack has been established.
For now, Area 2 Detectives are continuing to seek the public's help identifying the man from Friday's surveillance image, urging anyone with information to come forward using the tip line reference number above.
