NYPD officers converged on Kissena Park in Queens, racing to find the monster who sexually assaulted a 13-year-old Asian girl this week in a secluded part of the urban oasis.
Eight police cruisers and the NYPD’s mobile command center were stationed at the park’s Juniper Avenue and Colden Street entrance, and pairs of officers patrolled the green space on foot and horseback, posting wanted posters from local police departments.
Alankar Ngar, a father who was at the park with his 14-year-old daughter, said parents were scared.
“Since the news broke, we’ve all been on edge because we have small children here and it happened in the daytime,” said the 48-year-old. “If it had happened at night I would understand, but this happened in the daytime when you should have told your children they were free to play. It’s scary.”
Local resident Anna Jenn, 50, said she was saddened by the attack.
“I feel so sick and anxious,” said Jen, 50, who lives in the area. “I’m totally shocked.”
Police said the girl and a 13-year-old boy were in a field at the park around 3.30pm on Thursday when a man approached them and took them to a secluded area with a “large machete-style knife.”
The man then tied the girl’s wrists with shoelaces and sexually assaulted her, telling her to wait 20 minutes before stealing their mobile phones and running away.
The pervert was described as a short, light-skinned man in his 20s with short curly hair and braces on his teeth.
He also has a distinctive tattoo of a boar or bull with red eyes and horns on the left side of his chest.
Police say the children returned to the school after the heinous incident and notified staff, who then called 911.
A 30-year-old man who gave his name as Steve said he has lived around the park for six years and said there should be more officers on duty at all times.
“I’m worried about my wife and kids. I have a lot of kids,” he said.
Queens resident Rehan Safri said she has lived in the area for 20 years and has never heard of such a horrific incident happening before.
“I’m shocked this happened. I’ve never seen or heard of anything like this in the last 35 years. It’s never happened,” said the 36-year-old. “It’s sad. It’s really sad.”
Her father, Vikas Rohira, was at the park with his eight-year-old daughter and said there were more parents and children there than usual.
“This is the park where all the kids in the neighborhood come to play,” said the 40-year-old. “It used to be full of kids all day, but now parents come with their kids too.”
He feared another attack might occur.
“How can we be sure something like this won’t happen again?” he asked. “If this happens, will children ever be safe in the playground?”
