A man is facing attempted murder charges after he allegedly attacked a woman in broad daylight and tried to strangle her with a rope.
Corrine McDonald, 29, who lived in Philadelphia for four years but recently moved back to upstate New York, was visiting friends Wednesday afternoon in University City. She was walking along 45th and Larchwood Streets around 1 p.m. to grab a cup of coffee.
As she was walking, police say a man, identified as 33-year-old Andre Taylor, approached her from behind, put a rope around her neck and started to choke her.
"I felt something come around my neck and constrict it," McDonald said. "He had put a rope around my neck and was pulling it with both hands."
Taylor allegedly dragged McDonald into an alleyway. That's when McDonald says she fought back as her adrenaline kicked in.
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"I had this moment of fear but there is no option but to fight," McDonald said. "I yelled and he tried to stop me from yelling. He reached out and grabbed me by the throat with his hand because he must have dropped the rope."
As she struggled with the suspect, two undercover police officers who happened to be on patrol at the time spotted McDonald, ran to her rescue and apprehended Taylor, according to investigators.
Police say that Taylor, who was recently released from prison and was wanted for violating his parole for robbery, is also responsible for another attack earlier this week.
"We do have another job similar to this on Sunday around the same time," said Philadelphia Police Lieutenant John Walker. "We think he may have been in that area just looking for victims."
During the Sunday incident, Taylor allegedly attacked another woman from behind and used her headphones to choke her before fleeing the scene with seven dollars.
McDonald says she's still shaken by the terrifying ordeal but happy that it ended with Taylor's arrest.
"It was a traumatic event," McDonald said. "I'm glad that it happened in a way which means that he was apprehended. Now this man is not on the streets."
Taylor was taken into custody and charged with attempted murder, robbery, aggravated assault, simple assault and other related offenses. Sources close to the investigation tell NBC10 that he confessed to his crimes.
