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Police Warn Of Man Targetting Women In Hickory Hills, Palos Hills

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Police in the southwest suburbs were warning women to be careful when getting in and out of their cars, after a string of attacks in Palos Hills and Hickory Hills.

A man tried Tuesday night to carjack a woman in the parking lot outside a 24-hour gym in the 9700 block of Roberts Road in Hickory Hills. The woman was able to get away and call police.

Minutes later, the same man attacked another woman in the same parking lot. Police said a man got into a woman's car, pointed a gun at her, and ordered her to drive away.

After he had her drive to another parking lot, he ordered her to get into the back seat, and he tried to rape her. The woman was able to fight him off, and the suspect ran away.

Officers found the weapon used in the attack and it turned out to be a BB gun.

The North Palos School District released a warning, urging women to be careful. Lewis University, which shares the parking lot, also alerted students about the attacks.

Palos Hills police said the suspect also is wanted in a sexual assault on Friday near 103rd and Harlem. A woman was getting out of her car after work when a man pulled out a handgun and forced her to drive to a nearby area where he sexually assaulted her.

The suspect is described as a black male, 5-foot-6, between 16 and 19 years old, and weighing 120 pounds. Police said on both Tuesday and Friday, the suspect was wearing a gray hoodie and blue jeans.

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