DETROIT (WJBK) -
A 13-year-old girl was walking to school when she claims she was dragged into an alley and raped. Now the search is on to find her alleged attacker.
"I walk to school the same way I would do everyday."
However, this time she says something unexpected and unimaginable happened. The 13-year-old, who lives on the Detroit's west side, started her trek to Sampson Webber Academy around 7:30 Tuesday morning. As she crossed the Pacific bridge, she was confronted by a man, polite at first.
"He came by me and said excuse me."
So this teen kept walking, but had no idea this man was following. All of sudden he allegedly grabbed her and dragged her into an alley so overgrown it looks more like a jungle.
"He was like I'm going to kill you. I've been watching you every since you walked out the door. If I feel like you going to tell, I'm going to come back and kill you. He was like I'm not trying to go back to jail."
She claims her attacker, who didn't wear a mask, covered her mouth to keep her from screaming and raped her. He told the eighth grader she could go, but first count slowly to 100.
"Don't look back and if you look back I'm going to come back and kill you. I sat there. I was crying, but I counted to 100."
The young girl ran to her friend's house. Her family called police and then the alleged victim's stepfather.
"She told me what he had on and I was out the door. I started searching every abandoned house up the alley. I was mad. I felt kind of guilty because it felt on my shoulders because I normally be up at the time of morning. I normally walk her to school."
The 13-year-old was taken to the hospital for a rape kit. Police, who responded right away, are investigating. Their next step is getting a sketch of the guy allegedly responsible.
Sampson Webber Academy is just a few blocks away, yet families who live right where this happened claimed parents weren't notified about the alleged incident until after school let out.
"They left the voice messages saying that we received some information that one of our students was raped. We're just contacting the parents to let us know, but this is three hours after the kids were already out of school," said Shawnta Short. "The kids were dismissed going home unsafely not knowing what was going on."
In a neighborhood that she says no doubt attracts criminals since Allendale and Firwood are littered with abandoned houses and neglected alleys. Everyone is on high alert.
"He took her innocence. That's something she can't get back," said the stepfather.
"It just hurt[s]. I hope they catch him and keep him in there so it won't happen to [anyone] else," the 13-year-old girl remarked.
Detroit Police (Credit: WJBK | myFOXDetroit.com)
