A man was taken into custody for grabbing a woman at knifepoint on a San Diego-area community college campus and telling officials he was planning to rape her.
San Diego County sheriff's deputies said the potential victim, a Grossmont College student, was getting into her car on campus around 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Officials say that’s when suspect Anthony Washington, 26, held a knife up to the woman’s neck.
Washington – who’s not a student of Grossmont College – then allegedly pushed her into her car and told her to move over to the passenger seat.
Washington took off after a passerby noticed the struggle and honked, deputies said. The victim was not hurt.
Using a suspect description, a deputy found Washington and questioned him.
At that point, the deputy said Washington told him he had planned to rape the woman and "whatever he had to in order to get his way" according to the sheriff's department report.
Jail records indicate that Washington was booked into San Diego Central Jail on Tuesday on several charges, including assault with the intention to commit rape and false imprisonment by violence. He’s scheduled to appear in court Thursday.
On Wednesday, a student who takes night classes at the community college reached out to NBC 7 and said she’s very concerned about safety on campus in light of the recent attempted rape.
She said the college sent out an email to students following the incident, but she said there has been no evidence, as far as she can see, of heightened security on campus since the assault.
NBC 7 obtained the email sent to students by Grossmont College president Sunny Cooke. The message reads, part:
“Some of you may have heard that on our campus mid-day yesterday, we had an incident that could have happened at any large public place. An individual unrelated to our campus came to kidnap and harm a member of our campus community (a student). One of our heroic students noticed unusual activity and utilized quick, resourceful thinking to disrupt the event and report it to the Sheriff's Department. The effective responses on the part of our campus dispatch and sheriff's deputies led to the perpetrator being apprehended and arrested. The victim was not seriously injured and has been offered support services.
We will continue to offer support to the victim and recognize the heroic efforts of the witness whose efforts limited the impact of the crime. Thanks to all those who help keep our campus safe. It is our shared responsibility!”
The email goes on to ask students to be alert and aware of their surrounding and any unusual circumstances, and know where the emergency call boxes are located on campus.
Students are also reminded to call 911 in an emergency situation or alert campus officials or faculty members should they have any concerning behavior or activity to report.
