Central Park Rape Suspect Sought After Knifepoint Attack Near East Drive

New York police are searching for a suspect after a woman was raped at knifepoint in Central Park on Saturday night, according to the NYPD.

Police said the 39-year-old victim was attacked around 8:30 p.m. by a stranger who threatened her with a knife near the intersection of East 67th Street and East Drive. She was taken to a hospital and is in stable condition. The department said its investigation is active and ongoing.

Data show it was the fifth reported rape this year within the NYPD's Central Park Precinct. Around this time last year, the precinct had recorded three.

Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor, said the location made the attack especially troubling. "This most recent rape was in an area that's right near $10 million apartments and an area where you would hope that people in this city would feel safe," he said. He described the yearly total as "a very bad number."

Mauro said police commanders treat Central Park felonies and subway crime as two bellwether metrics, and he argued both are "going in the wrong direction."

He also pointed to the response from state officials. Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James had not publicly commented on the attack as of the source report. Earlier this month, Hochul quickly appointed James as special prosecutor in a separate rape case involving seven Cornell fraternity members. Mauro said public attention to such cases can shift quickly, and he linked the silence in part to the calendar, noting that the election is less than 10 days away.

City Council Speaker Julie Menin wrote on X that she was outraged by the "horrific act of violence." She added that her thoughts were with the survivor and said, "Every New Yorker deserves to feel safe in our city."

Mayor Zohran Mamdani addressed the case at a news conference on Monday morning. He said his administration is working to make sure the survivor has the support she needs for the next steps. He said the city will keep working with survivors, providers and city partners to strengthen prevention, address gaps in support and hold perpetrators of sexual assault accountable, in a city that "puts survivors' needs first."

Anyone with information about the suspect or the attack is asked to call the NYPD Sex Crimes Hotline at 1-212-267-7273 or 646-610-7272, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). Spanish speakers can call 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Tips can also be submitted on the Crime Stoppers website or through X at @NYPDTips.