GAINESVILLE, Fla. – As Gainesville police continue their search for the man who attacked four women, Local 6 is hearing from the 19-year-old good Samaritan who helped one of the victims.
Trevor Carlton was inside his apartment two blocks from the football stadium when he heard a woman's screams for help.
"Immediately this big, large man just bolts out of the bushes and I chased him for a little bit, and I looked to my left after I get to the end of that alleyway and there is just a girl laying there with a bloody face," he said.
Carlton said the woman's lip was busted open, her face was swollen and her dress was pulled down and ripped.
"Me and my girlfriend were just laying in our room hanging out; we heard about two screams," said Carlton. "By the second scream you could really tell it was someone that needed help."
Carlton said the suspect ran the other way as soon as he showed up.
Since then, the suspect has attacked three other women according to police, who are concentrating their patrols on and around campus. Police said the man is targeting young women who are walking alone, most of them distracted on their cellphones.
The latest attack happened Sunday outside of Library West. Police said the suspect grabbed a 21-year-old by the hair and tackled her to the ground, but she was able to fight him off.
Officer Ben Tobias, spokesperson for the Gainesville Police Department, said hundreds of tips have come in.
"We are getting information in around-the-clock. We have detectives that are working around-the-clock," said Tobias. "We are taking each individual lead and working it out. If it turns out to be nothing, fine, we are documenting everything."