Woman Groped in Fairfax County Store

Police: Woman could be 24th 'Springfield Groper' victim

A woman was grabbed inside a store in Fairfax County Thursday afternoon.

If connected to the series of assaults in the Springfield area -- known as the Springfield Groper case -- it would be the 24th reported incident, but police noted a significant difference: The previous assaults took place outdoors.

A 31-year-old woman was shopping in HomeGoods at Kingstowne Center about 3 p.m. when a man following her grabbed her, police said. The man immediately fled the store, escaping despite attempts to intervene by several passersby and store employees.

The man who grabbed the victim Thursday was described as Hispanic, about 30 years old and wearing a black jacket, light-colored pants and a black hat. The description matches the one given to police by other victims of the groper. Fairfax Police told News4's Jackie Bensen that this assault had "something in common" with each of the others, but what that characteristic was is not known.

Anyone with information about this or other cases should call Crime Solvers at 866-411-TIPS/8477 or Fairfax County police at 703-691-2131. Tips can also be submitted at www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org or by texting "TIP187" and the tip to CRIMES/274637.

This story has been corrected from a previous version.

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