GRPD looks for attacker;students warned

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - As Grand Rapids police look for the man who they say committed a sexual assault on one woman and attempted to sexually assault another woman, some neighbors and students near Aquinas College are erring on the side of caution as they walk around the area.

Both incidents happened in the same area and investigators are treating them as related cases.

Aquinas College officials are warning students to be careful as classes for the new semester begin Monday. The importance on campus is noted in an orange bulletin posted all around campus; detailing what happened and giving the suspect's description.

Grand Rapids police said a 21-year-old woman was sexually assaulted at 2:30 a.m. Saturday near E. Fulton Street and Lowell Avenue. Minutes later, they received another call regarding an attempted sexual assault involving a 47-year-old female victim.

Some people on Aquinas' campus know the younger victim, who was treated and released at a hospital after the attack, and many of them are now exercising more caution.

"It's kind of scary that it was just right across the street," student Jaimie Sansone said.

"East Grand Rapids is right there..downtown. You think downtown is safe. You don't like think stuff like this would actually happen," student Whitney Lubbers said.

An artist's rendering courtesy Grand Rapids police shows a clearer picture of the person who the victims say attacked them. The suspect is described as a black male, 25 to 35 years old, 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall and having a stocky, muscular build. His hair is shaved short in a fade haircut, and he was last seen wearing khaki shorts and a multicolored, horizontally striped shirt. He was clean shaven at the time of the assaults.