Police Report Another Rape in Baltimore City

City police say a third woman has been raped near and MTA bus stop – the third such attack over a span of five days.

Early Wednesday morning, a woman in her early 20's got off an MTA bus in Northeast Baltimore and began walking home. Police say a man approached her in the 2700 block of Brendan Avenue, showed a gun, led her to a dark alley and raped her.

This past Friday another woman was waiting for a bus in the 1300 block of Harford Avenue, when a man threatened her with a sharp piece of glass, then raped her. And Saturday morning another woman was raped after being attacked while waiting for a bus near the intersection of Hillen and Colvin streets.

Investigators are not certain all the rapes are connected, but they are warning women to be extra careful.

‘They need to catch him, quick,’ said April Alston of Northeast Baltimore. Her mother lives less than a block from the scene of the most recent attack. She usually walks to the bus stop, but not anymore. ‘My mom does early in the morning but now she won't be. She'll be getting a ride,’ she said.

Investigators won't know for sure whether the same man committed all three of the rapes until DNA taken from the victims can be analyzed.

‘There are certain similarities and there are differences, from suspect descriptions to the weapon that was used but again we're going to air on the side of caution because if they are linked we want the public to know,’ said Det. Nicole Monroe, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore City Police Department.

The victim of the second attack was able to help police assemble a composite sketch. It shows a black male with a moustache and beard, wearing a hooded sweatshirt.

Police are telling women -- there's safety in numbers. ‘We definitely want to get the word out so people know to just be really cognizant of their surroundings and do what they can to not give this sexual predator the opportunity that he looks for,’ Det. Monroe said.

In addition to the three rapes near bus stops, there have been six other rapes in the city of Baltimore in the past two weeks. Police do not believe those six are related to each other, or to the three that happened near MTA bus stops.