Safeway stores and police are on guard and local residents are changing their routines after a Gilroy woman became the third woman to have been attacked in one of the grocery stores’ parking lots Thursday night.
An 18-year-old was assaulted in her vehicle in the lot of Safeway Foods at 840 East Dunne Ave. in Morgan Hill about 8:40 p.m. Thursday, police said. The attack happened one week after the previous incidents, which occurred at two separate Morgan Hill Safeway locations.
Police believe the same man, who has not been caught, was involved in all three incidents.
The woman was alone and had just parked her vehicle when she heard the rear driver’s-side door open and a man get into the back seat, according to Morgan Hill Police Cmdr. David Swing. The woman reached for a pocket knife in the passenger’s glove compartment, but the attacker grabbed her hand and took the knife, which he held to her throat without saying anything, police said.
After the woman screamed several times, the attacker fled on foot, Swing said. He was seen running northbound through the store’s parking lot toward the Blockbuster video store.
Swing said the man matched the description of a man who attacked another woman in the same parking lot, and one in the Safeway lot at 235 Tennant Station March 19 – about 5 feet, 10 inches to 6 feet, about 200 pounds, in his 20s and of unknown race.
The victim suffered a minor cut, but refused medical treatment, Swing said.
He also noted the attack is similar to the previous attacks, as the man seemed to wait for random lone women to appear in the parking lot and approach them from behind. One difference in the most recent incident is the suspect attacked before the victim exited her vehicle, Swing said.
In response to the attempted assaults on random women, the likes of which local police say have never happened before, Morgan Hill police employed an emergency notification system the department has been testing for countywide use. The city used the system to send out a public safety alert via an automated phone message to about 11,000 residents about 3:30 p.m. Friday. It was the first time the system, designed to alert residents of impending or recent emergencies, has been used, according to Sgt. Jerry Neumayer.
The message, recorded by MHPD personnel, noted the occurrence of the incidents and advised residents to be extra cautious in shopping center parking lots.
The recording said residents, especially females, should avoid shopping alone at night until the attacker is caught, park vehicles in well-lit areas close to the building and keep car doors locked.
“We want people to feel safe at night, and not feel like they can’t go shopping at night, but you should take extra precautions while we investigate this case,” Swing said before the phone alert was sent.
One resident who received the phone message, Kate Blocker, was shopping at Safeway at East Dunne Avenue in the late afternoon Friday. She said prior to the first two incidents, which she heard about via e-mails from friends, she used to shop often at night to avoid crowds.
“Now I don’t do that,” Blocker said. “It’s a reminder to be aware of what could potentially happen.”
She added that in addition to the public safety alert, she received several more e-mails from friends Friday letting her know about the previous night’s attack.
Gilroy was similarly atwitter thanks to text messages and e-mails being circulated with the suspect’s picture, which was provided to the Dispatch last week.
“Be careful ladies he has not been caught,” one text message read. “Fwd to all girls in your phone from morgan or gilroy.”
However, the text goes on to inaccurately claim that an additional attack – a rape – took place “last night” at the Gilroy Target store. No attacks have been reported at either of the store’s Morgan Hill or Gilroy locations, Neumayer said.
In the first attack March 19, which happened about 11 p.m., a woman noticed the man following her to her vehicle on foot from the store’s entrance. She was able to get in the driver’s seat and lock the doors before he reached her, police said.
The second attack happened about 25 minutes later in the Safeway parking lot at Tennant Station, and the suspect entered the back seat after following a different woman to her vehicle. He punched her and shocked her with a stun gun several times before being frightened away by a passerby.
Safeway spokeswoman Espe Greenwood said the store has hired two additional security guards to stand guard in each of the two local stores’ parking lots in the evening hours. The stores’ management also worked with local police in coordinating potential responses, instructed staff to be on alert for suspicious people and report them to police, and encouraged staff to offer to help people carry their groceries to their car as they leave the store.
Furthermore, sketches of the suspect are posted in the front entrance area of both stores.
“We are very concerned and we take it very safely,” Greenwood said. “We want everyone who shops to feel comfortable and safe going in and out of store.”
She declined to comment on whether or not the attacks have affected sales at the two stores.
Neumayer noted that police dispatch has received numerous reports of sightings of people who match the suspect’s description, and officers have followed up on some of those reports. However, he said none of them were an exact match.
In response to the crimes, West Coast Martial Arts, 15650 Vineyard Blvd., is conducting a free personal safety seminar for women at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. It is limited to the first 50 women, who can register at 778-2544.
Nonprofit Community Solutions will raise awareness about Sexual Assault Awareness Month by co-hosting the “Time to Stop Rape” Flag Display at Gavilan College’s Gilroy campus, 5055 Santa Teresa Blvd., Wednesday.
From July 2007 through June 2008, Community Solutions provided sexual assault crisis intervention services to 130 individuals in South Santa Clara County and San Benito County and answered more than 100 crisis calls. About 70 percent of survivors do not report the crime to police or seek support services, according to the nonprofit, which offers a 24-hour crisis line: (877) END-SADV.
11 p.m. Thursday, March 19: Suspect’s first attempt to assault a random woman in the parking lot of Safeway Foods at 840 East Dunne Ave.
11:25 p.m. Thursday, March 19: The suspect attacked again at Safeway at 235 Tennant Station, this time getting in the back seat of a woman’s vehicle after apparently following her out of the store. The man punched the victim and shocked her with a stun gun several times before being scared away by a passerby.
8:40 p.m. Thursday, March 26: A third attack at Safeway’s East Dunne location, in which police believe the same man again entered the back seat of a vehicle containing a lone female. The victim was slightly injured before her screams startled the suspect, who fled on foot.
Anyone with information about these attacks may call the MHPD at 779-2101.
Reporter Chris Bone contributed reporting to this story.
