Naked man with knife enters CMU student’s off-campus home, tries to sexually assault her, police say

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh police are investigating after they say a naked stranger entered a student’s home and tried to sexually assault her.

A student at an off-campus residence on Fifth Avenue called police on Tuesday at 10:13 p.m. to report a burglary and attempted sexual assault, according to Carnegie Mellon University’s Chief of Police Aaron V. Lauth.

The victim said she got home around 6 p.m. and thought she heard someone enter her apartment at 10 p.m. She told police that a naked man armed with a small knife suddenly came into her bedroom. He told her not to say anything and that he wouldn’t hurt her. Police said she was able to distract him at some point and lock herself in the bathroom and call 911.

“You’ve got to be paralyzed with shock initially. It’s a good thing she managed to get her wits about quickly and then fight him off and get inside,” CMU student Arpitha Prakash said.

The suspect fled from the area when the student called the police, officials said.

The victim described the suspect to police as heavy-set, around 30 years old and having short dark hair.

“Honestly both of us are really scared we just live a mile from here maybe,” Neherik Srivastav, a CMU student, said.

“It’s concerning, I’m concerned there was like a sexual assault in my apartment building which is scary,” Calvin Lee, who lives in Shadyside, added.

Witnesses who saw the police response say officers were there quickly and went door to search for the suspect.

Lee added, “I saw a lot of flashlights and I was kind of like, ‘What’s going on?’ so I looked outside and there was a lot of people outside with flashlights.”

Pittsburgh police are investigating. Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 412-323-7141.

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