Violated and traumatized. Sunday night's assault only lasted a few minutes, but a Baltimore woman says it's completely jolted her foundation.
"Having someone walk up to me, look me in the eye and mace me, that moment is what is like burned into my brain," the victim told ABC2 News.
Because she's so unsettled, ABC2 News is not identifying the victim.
She tells us, Sunday night she was sitting outside on East Pratt Street talking on the phone when she saw two women on the corner.
"They stopped and they sort of hollered to me and said 'do you know what time it is' and that's when I looked at my phone, so I knew it was exactly 10:50 p.m.," she said.
About a minute later, the ladies walked over, and things turned ugly.
"They stopped right in front of me, and one of them grabbed my hair and pulled it back and the other one maced my face."
The 34-year-old immediately started screaming. She says the pair dragged her down the sidewalk by her ponytail, then started viciously beating her up.
"Wound up on my stomach, like fetal position, sort of screaming and protecting myself, and they were stomping on me and pulling my hair."
The noise brought neighbors outside, and someone called 911.
The victim says she doesn’t remember the two attackers demanding her cell phone, but they snatched it and ran away.
"The women, maybe early 20s, pretty small frame,” she said. “I think I lucked out that I got beat up by people who weren't actually that strong."
She tells us the mace burned her skin, he has cuts and bruises all over her body, and clumps of her hair were pulled out.
The attack is upsetting, but also heartbreaking. The victim says the ordeal highlights bigger and complex issues we have here in Charm City.
"I have such a deep belief in humanity and in my community and in this city, and I think we defend all the time that Baltimore is a place to invest in and support, and of course this temporarily shakes my sort of beliefs of being safe in my home and safe in my community," she said. "But I think when we can step back from the trauma, it makes me question what has happened in the lives of these young women that makes them capable of being able to do something like that to a stranger, and how do we talk about that."
Surveillance cameras at a local business did capture part of the attack on video. Investigators are still looking for the two women wanted for the assault and robbery, as well as checking if it’s connected to any other recent crime. Both were black women. One was wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans and white shoes, while the second was wearing a white tank top and shorts, the police report said.
If you know anything, call Baltimore Police.
An Upper Fells Point community meeting is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Wolfe Street Academy.
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