A longtime resident of Portland’s Bayside neighborhood who says she was the victim of a brutal mugging is warning women not to walk through the area alone without an escort, according to a post shared publicly to her social media profile on Sunday.
The woman, who says she has lived in Bayside for 22 years, said that about three weeks ago she was “mugged,” “jumped,” or “attacked,” adding she didn’t know how best to describe the assault.
“I got blindsided, I don’t remember much and I wasn’t paying attention,” the woman wrote. “It happened near my house. (within a block) People heard me yell for help and I got help quickly.”
Alongside the post she shared pictures of her face showing terrible injuries and bruises, apparently from the assault.
The woman said that at least two of her female neighbors were victims of similar attacks in recent weeks and months.
“The day after it happened, I was told it happened to another woman on my street,” she wrote. “She was hit multiple times and thrown to the ground. She ran into a business establishment and the police came.”
“Yesterday I ran into a neighbor and after giving me a hug, she told me the same thing happened to her a couple months ago,” she added.
The 22-year Bayside resident said that she “nowadays it’s not an option” to walk alone in the neighborhood without an escort.
“As much as I shouldn’t HAVE TO get an escort home, nowadays it’s not an option,” she wrote. “And, to be honest, I’m too scared to walk alone.”
“Plz [sic] just be careful and don’t walk alone,” she advised.
In April, the Portland Police Department doubled the the number of officers to four on their dedicated Bayside detail, in response to an uptick in complaints from the neighborhood and after a video showing rampant drug abuse, violence and public indecency outside of a Bayside apartment building went viral.
City Councilor Kate Sykes, former co-chair of the Maine Democratic Socialists of America, described the graphic video as “really hard to watch,” but said it contains “some kind of beautiful moments between human beings there.”
Portland Police Chief Mark Dubois has also been providing regular updates on the crime statistics from the Bayside neighborhood to the City Council’s Health and Human Services and Public Safety Committee.
At the Committee’s meeting last week, Chief Dubois said that Bayside alone has accounted for nearly a third of the city’s arrests and about 40 percent of all overdoses citywide so far this year.
In 2024, year-to-date arrests in the neighborhood total 587 — about 30 percent of the 1,985 total arrests this year citywide, according to Dubois. In October alone, Dubois said there were 45 arrests in Bayside.
The woman’s full social media post can be read below, her identity has been omitted for privacy:
About 3 weeks ago I was (mugged) (jumped) (attacked) I honestly don’t know how best to label it.
The day after it happened, I was told it happened to another woman on my street. She was hit multiple times and thrown to the ground. She ran into a business establishment and the police came.
Yesterday I ran into a neighbor and after giving me a hug, she told me the same thing happened to her a couple months ago. (Only difference is someone and their dog came out of their apartment and scared the attacker off) Her incident was caught on video but the perpetrator was never caught.
After a great deal of thought, I have decided it’s my obligation to my neighbors and other women in Portland to share what happened so others can be extra careful and stay safe.
This is what I want to share. (Plz respect me when I say I don’t want people asking me for more details)
I got blindsided, I don’t remember much and I wasn’t paying attention. It happened near my house. (within a block) People heard me yell for help and I got help quickly.
I have lived in Bayside for 22 years and I think I got too comfortable. I thought I was okay to walk by myself. As much as I shouldn’t HAVE TO get an escort home, nowadays it’s not an option. And, to be honest, I’m too scared to walk alone.
I am okay and extremely grateful it wasn’t worse!! What could have happened is way more scary. I am lucky for the huge amount of love and support I continually get from my family/friends and neighbors.
Plz just be careful and don’t walk alone
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