Police are trying to identify a man seen in surveillance video in connection to an attempted rape in Hamilton Heights.

Police say a man around 30-years-old followed a 40-year-old woman into her building and attacked her just before 6 a.m. on Saturday.

She fought back and both fell down the stairs. The woman was taken to Harlem Hospital with injuries to her back and hand. Police say the man ran away.

A man who works near the scene at 148th and Amsterdam who didn’t want to be shown on camera says he doesn’t know the man who was running away, but he does remembers seeing him early Saturday morning.

“I seen him at 148th running from between Broadway and he was running down here between Amsterdam and Convent,” the man said. “He was breathing mighty hard.”

Police say the man may have scratches on his face. He was about 5 feet 5 inches tall and was last seen wearing a distinctive striped jacket in this surveillance video.

People who work nearby were startled by the news, and say this type of crime does not usually happen here.

“It is scary especially for a lot of females, there’s a lot of females pretty much around the whole area and it’s scary to hear that and now we have to be careful and look out for each other,” said Rosemary Chaljub, who words as a hairdresser in the neighborhood. 

Police are continuing to investigate and ask anyone with information to contact crime stoppers.