Woman raped in alley on Detroit's east side at 7 Mile, Van Dyke

DETROIT (WJBK) - A Detroit woman says she was dragged behind a building and raped as she walked to a nearby gas station.

It happened in an alley behind a gas station in the area of Van Dyke and Seven Mile at 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Detroit police say a 38-year-old woman was attacked by a man forced her into the alley behind this Citgo gas station and sexually assaulted her.

The victim ran to a nearby gas station for help. She was taken to the hospital with minor abrasions on her body - but with the major trauma of being raped.

Now women in the area are shaken after hearing of the attack.

"It's really scary," said resident Jasmine Stone. "Raising kids in this neighborhood too? It's really scary."

Neighbors say the strange thing is they never heard the dogs barking in the alley where police say this happened.

"They didn't bark all night," said resident Sarena Nichols. "They bark all night all day if somebody's back there - the dogs did not bark."

Neighbors say they didn't know anything was going on in the alley - and it's not clear if any of the surveillance cameras in the area were even working.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detroit police at (313) 596-5200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.