Peachtree City police are investigating a daylight assault that was reported to have taken place late last week on one of the city’s cart paths.
A post in one of Peachtree City’s community Facebook groups asserted that a neighbor was out for a run and was attacked by a masked perpetrator. The victim fought back and removed the attacker’s mask, at which time he fled into the entrance of the nearby Balmoral apartment complex.
A spokesman for the Peachtree City Police Department confirmed that an assault did occur June 14 at around 6:30 p.m. and investigators are following up on it.
”An assault did occur on the multi-use path system behind the ReNew Apartments Braelinn,” according to a statement. “She did fight back and remove his mask during the struggle. The Criminal Investigations Division is investigating the matter at this time.”
It wasn’t that long ago where the local news would describe the physical characteristics of a perpetrator. They don’t do that much these days. I wonder why..
I stand by my concern that something is wrong with the police reaction to this assault. I could find no information from PTC police on any arrest or update on the incident on their site or the PTC site.
At least Fox5 is following up with a televised report that finally provided more of a description of the attacker. See “Peachtree City police seek identity of teen in cart path robbery attempt” June 27, 2024 on fox5atlanta.com.
“Peachtree City police say the attack happened at around 6:30 p.m. on Friday, June 14. A woman was walking alone, and she was right behind the Greens at Braelinn apartment complex on the south side of Peachtree City. Investigators say that she saw someone approaching her. That person got behind her. She did not really notice anything about him at the time, but then she felt him grab her from behind and there was a struggle. (Police) say she whipped him pretty good, ripped off his mask and sent him running off. May have even hurt him.
“She turned around. She gave him a good fight. He obviously got more than what he was expecting to bargain for and removed the mask. Best description we have at this point is just a teenage African American male,” said Peachtree City Police Lt. Chris Hyatt.
When the attack first occurred, there was significant community concern in Peachtree City that it had been a sexual assault on the cart path system. Police have had a couple of weeks to investigate, and they now say they are fairly confident that this was the motivation.
“She was wearing a fanny pack around her waist, and that appears to be the determined motive behind this incident, was attempting to remove that from her person,” Hyatt said.”
Something isn’t right here. While I wholeheartedly support our PTC first responders, especially our police officers, the lack of information and sense of urgency is out of place for the seriousness of the crime.
Why wasn’t there a description of the attacker and request for the community’s help to identify him put out immediately? Most of us have family and friends who run alone on the paths – – how have they determined there is no on-going threat if the attacker hasn’t been arrested?
PTC isn’t some city in NY or California where this happens everyday. We need to know that the relative safety we take for granted is not an illusion.
I totally agree that they are acting very out of sorts and not normal. Why would there be no increase in police presence as well. I live less than a mile from it all and seems odd. No description like short, tall, man or woman, white or black I mean come on. This is just weird and if they are making this Storey up then it should be a crime. Jail time for wasting everyone else’s time.
If it really happened then there would be more police patrolling that area and a description for sure.
Our Police Department (PTCPD) determined there was “no specific indication of an ongoing threat to other members of the public.” The investigation continues. I’m confident the PTCPD was, and is, on top of the situation. Chief Moon replied to my email and renewed my trust they are communicating any appropriate public safety issues.
PTCPD’s efforts to professionally protect us are commendable. We are most fortunate to have this team of officers in our City.
People…..when details are few and far between…….it’s important to also look at what isn’t being said…..and surmise that there must be a reason for few details being released….such as the details are still working on being verified, if possible. Do we have a case of the Jussie’s here? It’s no Smollet task to find a perp when you have few details….
No, it’s not a Jussie Smollet thing. If I had asked the Chief for approval to post her email reply and she granted permission, I would post the reply. I didn’t ask, so I won’t. It doesn’t appear as bad as one’s imagination can lead, though the victim is rightfully upset. I also understand a local television station has reported something about the case. We may soon see a response to that. Again, our PTCPD is doing an excellent job. We can trust their judgment.
Is a description too much to ask for?
I agree.
It wasn’t that long ago where the local news would describe the physical characteristics of a perpetrator. They don’t do that much these days. I wonder why..
This is no small thing. Why has it taken five days to learn this? How many “Facebook” pages does one need to peruse these days? I thought I had signed up to receive City notifications and alerts only to find that’s not good enough. I guess it’s time to go to another Council meeting.