DALLAS (AP) — Investigators believe a serial rapist has attacked at least eight women in one Dallas neighborhood since June, including six in the past two weeks, police said Wednesday.
The latest victim came forward Wednesday to report she was attacked on Aug. 28 in the same area, which is near downtown Dallas and next to the southeastern edge of Fair Park, where the state fair will open later this month.
In addition to their location, the attacks share several similarities, police said in a statement. The assailant in each was a black man in his mid-20s to early 30s who was armed with a handgun. He wore shorts and a T-shirt, masked his face using various types of cloth and in some cases, had on prescription glasses. The attacker approached his victims, forced them to secluded areas nearby, and then robbed and sexually assaulted them.
The victims reported that their attacker approached them on foot, but may have driven away in either a gray four-door Honda Civic or an older-model gray four-door Volvo.
The suspect has been targeting women who are out walking in the early morning hours near the park. Police said they have stepped up patrols in the area, but that people should avoid walking near the park in the early morning hours.
(UPDATE) The Dallas Morning News is reporting:
A person of interest in a string of rapes near Fair Park has been arrested.
Alan Mason was taken into custody for police questioning shortly after 3 a.m. Friday after police arrested him at an apartment complex in Arlington. Dallas police had tracked a vehicle linked to Mason to a residence in Mesquite. A relative told police where to find Mason.
Arlington and Dallas police located Mason at an apartment in the 2500 block of Summer Tree Circle near Brown Boulevard in north Arlington.
He was arrested on an outstanding warrant for probation violation for driving while intoxicated. He also had outstanding tickets in McKinney and Mesquite.
