A woman used a screwdriver to stab the eye of a man dubbed the "Blowtorch Rapist" blamed for three attacks in a section of Detroit plagued by sex crimes.
The suspect struck before 7 a.m on Wednesday by putting a gun to a woman's head outside a gas station on the city's west side, according to TV station WWJ. The man forced the victim into a car, hit her several times, ripped her clothes off and burned her with a blowtorch, TV station WXYZ reported.
The woman escaped and fled partially nude to a friend's home nearby after stabbing the predator's right eye, according to the Detroit News.
The man wanted by police allegedly drove away in a four-door beige vehicle.
Two women beaten and left naked in a similar area of Detroit on consecutive days in July had burn marks on their bodies, leading police to believe one man is behind all three incidents.
There were 11 other sex crimes within two miles of Wednesday's attack during the previous six months in an area dotted with vacant lots and abandoned buildings, according to crime data reported by the Detroit News.
"There's a guy running around assaulting people and I felt like no one was really interested in it," said an unnamed woman to WXYZ.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Detroit Police Department’s Sex Crimes Unit at 313-596-1950 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP