Irving woman says she fought off man who tried to sexually assault her
IRVING, Texas - Irving police are looking for a predator who attacked a woman while she was out for a run in her neighborhood. She says he tried to sexually assault her, but she fought him off.
The sidewalks along Cowboys Parkway in Irving are full of people enjoying the spring weather, and they seem to have a sense of safety.
It was the same feeling Nicole Fugate had when she started her run through the neighborhood on Monday, March 11 around 3 p.m.
"I was walking on this sidewalk here along the wall," she recalled. "The suspect pulled up, parked his car on the corner."
Fugate says she never saw the man coming until he grabbed her from behind.
"He used one arm to feel around to make sure I didn’t have a weapon on me," she said.
Fugate says the man then threw her on the ground.
"Halfway through, I had a moment of like, ‘Nicole, you have to fight. This man is about to do something terrible to you. If you don’t fight, this is about to happen to you,’" she said.
Fugate found the strength to fight back.
"I scratched him, I punched him, everything I could to get him off of me," she said.
Fugate says the attacker never said anything to her. And after a short tussle, she says he ran back to the car parked on the corner of Touchdown Drive and Cowboys Parkway and took off.
Fugate gave police a description of the predator when she filed a report.
Irving police say the suspect is a Black male, around 5’ 5", 140-150 pounds and between 25 and 30 years old. He had a short buzzed-cut hairstyle and was wearing a dark colored t-shirt.
Police also say the car he was driving is a silver PT Cruiser.
"It just, it irritates me that I have to feel like this that as women we can’t walk around the streets and be safe," Fugate said.
As an avid runner, Fugate takes precautions to stay safe. But that didn’t stop someone from trying to hurt her.
"Going through such a traumatic situation and then not be able to have my outlet has been very, very hard just because I don’t feel safe on the trail or the sidewalk right now," she said.
Irving police searched the neighborhood after it happened but didn’t find the attacker.
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Video from the incident shows the suspect pointing a gun at the security guard and taking off his pants while he lays on the ground next to the open ATM.
Fugate is asking people who live in the area to check their security cameras so he can be caught and a sense of safety can be restored.
"That’s my hope is that somebody got him on camera," she said. "Just because I got away doesn’t mean the next person will. I don’t want any woman to have to go through the emotional experience that I’ve had to go through."
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Irving Police Department.