PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) – Researchers in Philadelphia and Montgomery County are trying to link up to four random attacks on women over the past two days.
Authorities said the series of attacks began Wednesday night on Maurice Street near 13th Street.
Three women were walking when a man approached and started beating them. One has a broken nose, the others have torn and swollen lips, police said.
RELATED: Police investigate after disturbing video showing a man hitting 3 women in South Philly
The brutal attack was filmed on video surveillance and left neighbors in the area scared.
“It’s disgusting and it wasn’t even late … people want to go out to dinner and have fun and they have to worry about going home and being beaten,” said Karen DiOrio.
Rick Ames heard the screams and thought a woman might have been raped. He approached the spot when his wife called 911, but thought otherwise at the last second.
“I didn’t know if there was a gun, so I just stopped,” Ames said.
During a press conference Friday afternoon, Philadelphia Chief Police Inspector Frank Vanor said the suspect’s motive was unclear.
“He made some statements, they didn’t make sense. We don’t know what he was trying to say. Then he left the area and fled on foot,” Vanore said.
Minutes later, Noel Liquori said she was waiting for her boyfriend to get off work around the corner from Block 1900 on 13th Street when her husband attacked her.
“Apparently out of nowhere. The first blow came from behind. He hit me in the ear, put me in and hit me in the face several times, “she said.
Liquori said she lost consciousness.
“The last thing I remember was being dragged on my back. He was holding me on my feet, pulling me down the sidewalk. I kept kicking and screaming to get someone’s attention,” she said.
Investigators say a man with a similar description was accused of sexually assaulting a woman when she entered work on Block 6100 on Ridge Avenue in the Rocksborough area of Philadelphia on Thursday morning.
Another woman was also beaten in Whitpein, Montgomery County, a few hours later around 10 a.m.
Whitpein City Police arrested Malcolm White of Brooklyn, New York, shortly after the attack as he ran down the road.
White is currently being held in Montgomery County Jail. He is accused of aggravated assault and other related crimes.
Philadelphia police already have an arrest warrant for sexual abuse in Rocksborough, but they need more evidence to link it to the attacks in South Philadelphia.
“He is definitely our suspect in the sexual assault because we have an approved warrant. The other two have work to do to connect him, “Vanore said.
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