NYPD Increases Patrols In Central Park Following Knifepoint Rape

CENTRAL PARK, NY — Police officers will more frequently patrol Central Park after a woman was raped at knifepoint over the weekend, New York City Police Department officials said.

The added patrols come after police released photos of the suspect, who police said pulled out a knife and raped a 39-year-old woman near East 66th Street and Fifth Avenue before 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The attacker has not been arrested yet, police said.

"The NYPD has increased patrols in Central Park," officials said in a statement to the New York Post. "As with any part of the city, we remind everyone to always be aware of their surroundings and to remain vigilant."

This attack is the fifth rape in Central Park this year, according to the NYPD's crime statistics, up from three the previous year.

"Every New Yorker should be able to walk anywhere in our city at any time of day, and they should be safe, and anything less than that is not something that I will ever justify or accept," Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters in Central Park at a recent briefing. "When it comes to this specific case, the NYPD is conducting an investigation into it, and our administration is working to ensure that the survivor has the support that she needs to navigate the next steps."

The rape comes amid a recent string of violence: On Oct. 18 at 9:45 p.m., a 32-year-old woman was attacked and robbed by three masked men in Central Park, at West 93rd Street and West Drive.

Two weeks prior on Sept. 27 at 9:43 a.m., a 63-year-old woman was beaten to death in a gazebo at East Drive and East 74th Street.

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.