'Very concerning': Residents in northwest Edmonton taking precautions after police warn of attacker

Residents in the Cumberland neighbourhood in northwest Edmonton are asked to be on alert for a man who has attacked several women and sexually assaulted some of them.

Police revealed Tuesday night that "a series of seven incidents" happened between April 2 and 30, always between the hours of 6 and 9 a.m.

"Given the similar descriptions provided, investigators believe the same male is responsible for all seven incidents and, as his behaviour has escalated, are issuing a warning to residents in the area," Edmonton Police Service spokesperson Carolin Maran wrote in a news release.

The suspect is described as a white man between the ages of 25 and 30.

He has a thin build and very short hair. He was reportedly wearing dark pants and a hoodie, often with his hood up.

"That's very concerning," a resident named Nataliya told CTV News Edmonton Wednesday.

She believes Cumberland is generally a safe place but said she'll now avoid running in any secluded areas.

"This neighbourhood, I lived here for many years, it's very unusual to see this level of crime activity," Nataliya said.

A woman named Melanie said her neighbours are sharing news of the attacks in an effort to protect each other and her kids are no longer walking to school alone.

"If this dates back into early April, I'm just wondering why we're hearing about this now?" she asked.

"It's early May. If it's seven instances over a month, personally I've been walking by myself over that time, and I think I would have preferred to be aware."

Police said the incidents are being made public now because officers just recently linked them all and because there's been an escalation in the severity of the attacks.

"If anybody has had any sort of interaction with someone that matches that description, or maybe somebody that is potentially a victim that hasn't reported it to police, to please report to police," Sgt. Dan Thames said.

Thames said he didn't have information on injuries suffered by the victims and didn't know if any of the attacks were caught on security cameras.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

With files from CTV News Edmonton's David Ewasuk