Chicago police have confirmed two incidents in which a masked man on a bike attacked women in the city's Ukranian Village and Wicker Park neighborhoods.
One of the victims, Allison Howe, said she was walking alone Monday morning on Hoyne and Pierce avenues when the suspect approached her.
"I felt someone grab me very hard," Howe recounted. "It took me a second to process what was happening. He was right next to me... I realized I didn't know him at all."
Howe says when the man took off, she immediately called police and started warning other women who were walking alone nearby.
"A woman passing me said... 'this just happened to me,' and it turned out she was 200 feet behind me," she said.
Howe said, with help from a detective and surveillance security, she was able to obtain a picture of the man who she said attacked her.
While police have not released the photo, Howe told NBC 5 a third woman announced on social media that she was also attacked by a man fitting the description.
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According to police, a 39-year-old woman was targeted in a separate incident that occurred five hours after and six blocks away from where Howe reported her assault.
"It's extremely violating," Howe added. "Everyone with COVID right now trying to stay safe... I feel like he took that sense of security... I'm constantly looking over my shoulder every time I hear a bike. Just really wanna catch him."
