Joggers on edge after attack on Mattapan path
A woman was randomly attacked in broad daylight Tuesday by a man while walking on a Mattapan bike path, and people using the path Wednesday said the attack has made them anxious and frightened.
“I’m definitely scared. I’m the mom of two young girls,” said Milton resident Colleen Chin, who runs on the bike path 3 to 4 days a week. “Every time I hear these stories about any runner getting accosted, I think, ‘By the grace of God, it could be me too.’ ”
The victim, a 46-yearold woman from Dorchester, was attacked about 2 p.m. while walking on the path next to Ryan Playground on River Street, state police said. She was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center with contusion and laceration injuries and has since been released.
The suspect is described as a 5-foot-10 black man in his 20s with a black afro about 3 inches high. He was seen wearing a navy blue long sleeve shirt and navy blue sweatpants, police said.
Toyya Handy, a day care worker at Little Scholars Learning Academy around the corner from the attack, said she has been using the bike path for the past five years to take kids to the playground but added the path has been neglected by city officials during the past month or two.
“I’ve been calling, complaining, asking them to do more patrols. They haven’t,” Handy said. “They haven’t been landscaping like they usually do, so I can see this happening because nobody can really see onto the path like you used to be able to.”
Chin said she hopes local officials will install emergency assistance poles along the path so anyone who feels unsafe in the secluded area can easily call for help.
“I was running along the wooded paths at Babson College this past weekend, and they have those safety poles there. I’d like to see something like that out here,” Chin said. “There are bad people everywhere. It’s up to us as a community to make sure we’re making our area safe.”
State police said in a statement they have “always maintained, and will continue to maintain, a strong patrol presence on the bike path and other state properties in that area.”
Despite her fears, Chin hopes this assault won’t dissuade residents from using the bike path going forward.
“We can’t stop running here. To have this slice of nature in the middle of the city is a blessing,” she said.
The assault currently is under investigation by state police. Anyone with information about the suspect is urged to call 911.