A suspect viciously attacked and allegedly groped a realtor during an open house event in Encino, California, on Sunday afternoon.
Surveillance video shows the realtor, who said she does not wish to be identified, standing outside a house on the 5700 block of Zelah Avenue with a man, whose name she said is Tom.
The realtor told reporters that he followed her when she went out the front door and said she feared he was trying to lure her into a back room inside the home.
Video shows the suspect as he shakes her hand, then roughly shoves her to the ground.
“I said no matter what I’m gonna keep screaming until I get help,” she recalled. “I don’t know if I’m still going to be a realtor. It’s a tough question.”
The victim said he grabbed at her chest before he ran away. She then got up off the ground and continued yelling for help.
“I think he would’ve raped me; that’s number one, and he would have killed me,” she said of the terrifying attack.
This is not the first time the realtor met the man posing as a potential buyer. She said he came to another open house last week and gave her a strange feeling, so she had a friend with her for most of the afternoon on Sunday.
However, once the friend left, the man asked her for some water and if he could use the bathroom, but she said no.
“I was lucky, because I had a bad feeling from day one that this person was going to hurt me,” she said.
Reports stated that although the woman only suffered some bruises and a badly skinned knee, she was deeply traumatized.
“I see him all the time. He’s in front of me. I didn’t sleep last night,” she commented. “It just seems like a movie playing and playing, and I can’t get it to stop.”
Reports said that prior to the assault, the suspect looked into the camera twice, giving police a clear image of his face. The victim also told authorities that the man appeared to be cross-eyed and said he spoke a few words of Arabic.
The Los Angeles Police Department has asked anyone with information regarding the suspect’s whereabouts to contact the department at 877-527-3247. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.