A massive hunt is underway in the UK for a male suspect for raping a woman, said to be a Punjabi, in northern England, with the police calling it a "racially aggravated" attack.
The West Midlands Police issued an "urgent" appeal on Sunday, saying the woman, in her 20s, was raped in Walsall on Saturday evening.
"Officers established that she had been raped and assaulted at a nearby property by a man she did not know," they said in an official statement.
The attacker has been described as white, in his 30s, with short hair, and wearing dark clothing.
The police also released CCTV footage of the suspect, in which he was seen walking in an outdoor setting, most likely a park.
The West Midlands Police said that specialist officers from their Public Protection Unit, local policing officers, and forensic officers have been working overnight to recover CCTV, speak to witnesses, and identify the suspect.
"This was an absolutely appalling attack on a young woman, and we are doing absolutely everything we can to arrest the person responsible," Ronan Tyrer, who is overseeing the investigation, said.
"While we are following multiple lines of enquiry right now, it's vital that we get to hear from anyone who saw a man acting suspiciously in the area at the time. It may be that you were driving through the area and have dashcam footage, or you have CCTV that we have not yet recovered. Your information could be the vital breakthrough that we need," he said.
Tyrer also said they are not currently linking this attack to any other offences.
The police said Walsall is a diverse area, and that they know the "fear and concern that this awful attack will cause in our communities".
"We have been speaking to people in the community today to listen to and understand their concerns, and there will be an increased policing presence in the coming days."
Anyone with information has been asked to get in touch with the police via 101 or Live Chat, quoting log 4027 of October 25.
Preet Kaur Gill, a British Sikh member of Parliament from the West Midlands region, said she was "deeply shocked and saddened" to hear about "yet another" racially aggravated rape.
"The repeated pattern of violence against women in our region, compounded by hate and racial overtones, is deeply disturbing," she wrote on X.
Sikh Federation UK said that the "young woman who was subject to a racially aggravated rape in Walsall is a Punjabi woman".
"The attacker apparently broke down the door of the house where she was living... West Midlands Police have now had two racially aggravated rapes of young women in their 20s in the last two months and urgently need to find those responsible," the organisation said, referring to the rape of a British Sikh woman in Oldbury, in the West Midlands region, last month.
A 49-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman have been arrested in connection with the attack on the woman in her 20s, who reported being sexually assaulted on September 9.
