A 20-year-old college student successfully fought off an attacker late Wednesday night in the foyer of her apartment building.
The woman, who didn't want to reveal her name, told News4 a friend had just dropped her off at her apartment complex just off New Hampshire Avenue near University of Maryland after 11 p.m.
When she went inside, she said a stranger was waiting in the foyer and began speaking to her in Spanish, slurring his words.
"He then took out money from his pocket and offered it to me," she explained. "My guess was that he was offering it for sex. I politely declined.
"At that moment, he attacked me... came at me very fast. I told him, 'No,' and he threw me on the floor ... And then he ripped off my pants."
That's when her fight-or-flight instinct kicked in.
"I started screaming and kicking because I'm not going to let anybody touch me like that. That scared him and he ran away ... my dad taught me very well. It's better to come out with a few bumps and bruises than have something actually happen to you."
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Thursday night, she helped a crime analyst put together a sketch of the suspect; about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and 170 pounds with no facial hair. He was wearing a furry hat, black jacket and gray pants.
Police say they believe the suspect was also involved in an indecent exposure incident in which he approached a 36-year-old woman and tried to solicit her for sex before exposing himself.
