Neighbors on edge after woman violently attacked walking dog along Atlanta BeltLine

ATLANTA — A violent attack on the Atlanta BeltLine has police on the hunt for the person who targeted a woman on an afternoon walk with her dog.

The woman told police that the man was acting suspicious and aggressive and she tried to get away from him.

She told police he grabbed her by the hair and violently attacked her.

Now, neighbors told Channel 2’s Matt Johnson they are letting each other know to stay alert.

“We know a lot of girls that live in our building so that would be good to at least communicate with them,” neighbor Marianna Rodriguez said.

Police say the stranger “began grabbing the victim’s hair and demanded her phone” Wednesday around 3 p.m.

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It happened near Inman Way in Inman Park while the woman tried to walk off the BeltLine to avoid the suspicious man.

Atlanta police say the man pushed her to the ground.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard of that happening,” said neighbor Olivia Willingham.

“I have seen a couple of interesting folks on the BeltLine but usually I have my dogs and that makes me feel safer, but clearly if she had dogs with her, that's a little scary,” neighbor Kaitlyn Johnson said.

A police spokesperson told Johnson that officers in the area are on the lookout for the attacker and they take the safety of those on the BeltLine very seriously.

The man was last seen wearing "light blue scrubs with an over-sized navy-blue shirt with one sleeve green and the other sleeve red."

People we talked to say they won't underestimate what sketchy behavior can lead to.

“Usually you can just walk around them and it’s not bad but if they’re, like it's more violent. then you really don’t know what to do,” Rodriguez said.

The victim thankfully only had minor injuries and the attacker got away with nothing.

Atlanta police say they have some good information to work with about the suspect and will continue to show a presence along the BeltLine.

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