Pittsburgh police on Friday released its second set of images of a suspect they believe raped a woman in Oakland on Sunday.
The suspect, who is seen in black clothing in the photographs, is described as possibly in his 30s, 5-foot-7 and about 150 pounds. He was wearing a black ski mask.
Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or Pittsburgh police’s Special Victims Unit at 412-323-7141.
On Tuesday, Pittsburgh police had released surveillance video of the person they believe is the alleged rapist.
SVU detectives are releasing two new photos of the suspect in the violent sexual assault of a young woman at approximately 2 a.m. on March 3, 2024 in the 200 block of Melwood Avenue in Oakland.
Info? Call (412) 323-7141 or 9-1-1.
Incident details:https://t.co/mQWjEPmBRV pic.twitter.com/iBieiqm5WT
— Pittsburgh Police (@PghPolice) March 8, 2024
The University of Pittsburgh stepped up police patrols this week following the reported rape, which took place near Pitt’s Oakland campus — in the 200 block of Melwood Avenue — at about 2:10 a.m. Sunday.
Pittsburgh police said the victim reported being sexually assaulted by a man wearing a black ski mask who displayed a knife, hit her in the face and took her cellphone.
Pitt, meanwhile, confirmed on Friday that campus police received a report of a rape in the law school on Feb. 29. Officials said they could not comment beyond a campus police blotter entry from that day.
“While we cannot provide additional information due to confidentiality obligations, we can confirm the incident reported at the law school was not related in any way to the incident that occurred off campus on March 3 ,”read a Pitt statement released by spokesman Jared Stonesifer.
In Sunday’s attack, the woman had just stepped off a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus on Centre Avenue and was talking on her cellphone when the man approached her, according to police.
He took her into a back alley and “forced her to remove her undergarments,” police said. He then threatened to kill her, and punched her in the eye, according to the police account.
Neither Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Cara Cruz nor Pitt authorities would say if the victim has any connection to the school.
About 29,500 students are enrolled on Pitt’s main campus, roughly two-thirds of them undergraduates.
A Pittsburgh Regional Transit official declined on Monday to say whether the bus that dropped the woman off captured video that could assist detectives.
Staff writer Bill Schackner contributed to this report.
