Fear spreads in US town following a series of senseless street attacks

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• No less than ten men have been assaulted in Waltham, Massachusetts, since Nov. 10 by a still-unknown assailant.
• The series of violent attacks typically happen at night, and all victims were struck from behind by a blunt weapon.
• The police alerted the residents to be more vigilant, describing the suspect as a Black male, as shown in the surveillance video.

One man was reportedly attacked with a blunted object in the face while out for an evening walk, while another victim was dumping the trash outside his apartment when he was mugged. In another case, a U.S. Postal Service staff was severely abused during a late afternoon delivery.

Occupants of Waltham, Massachusetts, are uneasy following a report by the police of no less than ten men who were assaulted by an unknown aggressor in a series of violent incidents, with at least ten victims since Nov. 10.

Detective Sgt. Steve McCarthy confirmed in a statement that the Waltham police are already working on the case and targets to prevent another incident from occurring.

McCarthy said the last attack happened on Friday evening when an offender attacked a man walking along a residential thoroughfare with a rounded weapon and escaped to a dark alleyway.  As in the other cases, The detective added the suspect for the successive assaults seemed to wait for timing before surprising victims by an attack.

Police released investigation footage on Saturday,  showing an individual who they called the suspect responsible for the series of current violent incidences in Waltham. The department also urged the residents to get in touch with them for any suspected person’s whereabouts.

A dark hooded man wearing washed blue jeans and running shoes was seen sprinting down a street in the footage. Police did not elaborate on the video’s date and place.

The investigators also released a generic depiction of the attacker, writing that he seems to be between 5-foot-6- to 5-foot-10-inches tall, weighing  160 to 180 pounds, and a Black male.

Police also decided to reverse 911 calls, an unusual move, to warn the city’s residents, telling them to be wary and remain mindful of their area,  particularly at night time.

Officers also observed that in all those random and motiveless assaults, the said suspect usually moves between 5:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. in the city 22 miles northwest of Boston.

Initial findings suggest that the attacker targets tenants of an apartment compound, but he since then expanded his movement across the area of around 63,000 people, assaulting numerous latest victims in the downtown, as reported by the police.

One of the victims, David Cameron, told WCVB-TV, an ABC associate station in Boston, that he was mugged Wednesday night when he went out of his apartment, saying that he was struck in the head by what seemed to be a baseball bat.

The victim said he was hit out cold and suffered a skull injury.

Melissa Gallant, a resident of the area, said she and her neighbors have been anxious about recent attacks.

Source: ABC News