Woman found bloody and beaten in Takoma Park alley - DC Breaking Local News Weather Sports FOX 5 WTTG

A disturbing find in a Takoma Park-DC neighborhood has people living there on edge.

A young woman, barely conscious, was discovered battered and bloody, and lying in an alley in 6600 block of First Street NW.

Police spent hours combing the area looking for clues.

It was still light outside, just 6pm Saturday, when a woman walking her dogs spotted the woman in alley.

" I saw a body laying down there and what I was afraid of is am I going to walk up on someone that's deceased, whose been killed, and I was a little terrified," Jennifer Boozer says.

And as she got closer, Boozer knew right away, the woman had been the victim of a vicious attack-a possible sexual assault.

"Her nose was broken and bleeding, and her face looked like she had been beaten,"Boozer says.
" I was very concerned because I had never seen anything like that and I felt her pain as a woman too."

Boozer called 9-11 and waited with the woman until the ambulance arrived.

Beth Cope has lived near the alley for more than three years and had never considered it unsafe--until recently, when more people started using it as a cut-through.

"The whole neighborhood is concerned. We're all wondering if there's anything we can do,"Cope says.

Boozer, who's lived in the neighborhood more than 35 years, has some advice.

"If you see something call police, and if you see someone who needs help, get involved and help them," Boozer says.

DC Police say they are investigating , but they have released few details, including the victim's identity.

Witnesses says the victims has short, red hair. She was wearing a top, sweater, jeans, and new running shoes when she was found.

Anyone with information is urged to call DC Police.