Police are warning women in East Dallas to stay on alert, and to make sure their windows are locked.
A woman in the Lakewood Heights neighborhood was sprayed with mace, threatened with scissors and sexually assaulted inside her home on Penrose Avenue last Friday.
"His weapon of choice in this was mace and a pair of scissors, which is not something we see all the time," Dallas police Senior Cpl. Kevin Janse said.
The victim told police she woke up at 4:45 a.m. to find the man standing next to her bed.
After the sexual assault, the suspect stole two computers and other electronic gear.
Investigators said the man got into the house through an unlocked kitchen window.
"At first when I saw the paramedic, I didn't think anything of it," neighbor Marcia Savard said.
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Savard said she now will be more careful.
"In the morning, I am not going to walk, because he can do the same thing to anybody that's just walking in the neighborhood," she said. "What's going to stop him?"
Another neighbor said she had just installed an alarm system on Thursday after her home was broken into a month ago.
"It seems like there's almost no limit to what you need to have to protect your home and self," she said.
The attacker was described as speaking English with a thick, broken accent, possibly Indian. He was about 30 to 40 years old, 5 foot 10 and 200 pounds, had a dark complexion and wore dark clothing.
"At this point, we do not believe it's related to any other offenses," Dallas police Lt. Sally Lannom said.
Anyone with information about the assault is asked to call 214-671-3584.
Police said Friday 495 sexual assaults have been reported in Dallas so far this year, two less than the number of reports at this time last year.
