NYC Nightmare: Two Women Raped Within Hours Of Each Other

New York law enforcement officials are searching for a man suspected of kidnapping a woman in Brooklyn and raping her on a nearby rooftop early Monday.

Frighteningly enough, this was actually the second sexual assault within hours on the same day. Hours before the report, police were investigating a similar report in Brighton Beach. Police went to Oceanview Avenue in Brighton Beach where a woman said she was raped by a man with a knife. While searching the area, police saw a man matching the description handed them by the victim and attempted to arrest him. He fired one shot in their direction, missing the officers, who did not return fire. Though the suspect escaped, he forced the woman to give him her phone number, and actually texted her later, according to NBC New York. This allowed police to identify him as Norman Vanigas, 23.

A few hours later, another woman was waiting for a cab on Bergen St. in Crown Heights when she was attacked by a man wielding a box cutter. He dragged her to a rooftop and raped her, according to NY Daily. The incident occurred Monday around 2:00 a.m. The woman was taken to Kings County Hospital.

Vanigas is only believed to be the shooter following the first sexual assault report. Police are currently trying to determine whether or not he is also the rapist, as he does match the first victim’s description. Police don’t have any leads thus far on the second rapist, though he is described as being light-skinned, 5-foot-4 with a medium build and wearing a black baseball hat, white T-shirt and dark pants.

The NYPD is offering a $12,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of Vanigas.

If you’re in the New York area, be careful. We don’t want to end up writing about you under “crime.”