According to Alexandria Police, a 24-year-old woman said she was raped by a man with a gun at the pool she worked at in the 200 block of South Pickett Street. The incident happened on Sept. 3 and was reported to police around 2 p.m. The woman is a lifeguard at the pool. No other people were present during the incident.
The assailant was described as a white man in his mid-30s, tall and thin, with short hair and dark eyes. Police said he was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, light-colored jeans and a blue baseball cap at the time of the assault.
“We’re hoping we’ll be able to develop a composite,” said Crystal Nosal, public information officer for the Alexandria Police. “The assailant was unknown to the person. If he was known, he wouldn’t have approached it the way we did. Stranger sex assaults are rare in the city, and for one to happen in the middle of the day at a public location is alarming.”
Nosal encouraged citizens to be aware of their surroundings and to call the police if they feel suspicious.
“If you feel like someone is lingering, we’re more than happy to come out and talk to people,” said Nosal. “A lot of times people will tell themselves ‘you’re making a big thing out of nothing’ and they talk themselves out of calling the police.”
Police have asked anyone with information about this incident or the assailant to contact Det. Helsa Richmond with the Alexandria Police Department at 703-746-6613.